Best Poster Competition: AMCP Foundation and CVS Health Recognize Research on Preterm Birth, Opioid Use, and Migraine Therapy
Congratulations to the students and new practitioners whose original research was recognized with AMCP Foundation Best Poster Awards this spring! Our most recent Best Poster Competition honorees submitted abstracts for presentation at AMCP 2020, and virtually presented their work during AMCP eLearning Days, April 20-24. Virtual posters in the AMCP eLearning Days poster hall were judged on factors including scientific merit, methodology, and visual interpretation of data.
"We're honored to partner with the AMCP Foundation in sponsoring the Spring 2020 Best Poster Awards," said Mindy Messina, PharmD, clinical vice president of health plans, CVS Health. "This year, we presented the awards virtually — in light of the COVID-19 pandemic — to these individuals and were amazed by their talent. Many congratulations to Waverly, Kayla and Shiyu on their poster submissions, and we wish you the best of luck in your future pharmacy endeavors."
Best Poster by a Graduate Student: Shiyu Zhang, MS, PhD Candidate, University of Texas at Austin College of Pharmacy
Progesterone (17-alpha hydroxyprogesterone caproate) utilization and adherence in women with a high-risk pregnancy: a study of two databases (poster #O2)
Ensuring patient access to appropriate, efficacious, and safe therapy is critical to all managed care organizations. This poster identifies variables that may influence the patient’s ability to receive optimal therapy for preterm birth (PTB). In her retrospective analysis, claims data from Decision Resources Group (2012-2017) and Texas Medicaid (2013-2015) were used to assess statistical significance of progesterone utilization and adherence. Although utilization of guidelines directed therapy for PTB has increased since 2013, the gap remains between patients indicated for therapy and patients who access therapy. These findings encourage payers to reassess formulary strategies and clinical programs to address patient access and adherence.
Best Poster by a Resident or Fellow: Kayla Thompson, PharmD, Pharmacy Resident, Gateway Health Plan
Evaluation of persistence, switch patterns, and costs among migraine patients utilizing calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) inhibitors in a U.S. Medicaid population (poster #G40)
Given the complexity of migraine treatment and the financial burden, payers critically assess therapies entering the market to ensure optimal patient outcomes. The entrance of novel calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) inhibitors in 2018 provided chronic migraine sufferers another treatment option. In her study, 2018-2019 Pennsylvania Medicaid claims data were used to evaluate changes in CGRP utilization and costs. These observations solicit researchers to identify reasons for therapy discontinuation, therapy selection, increased pharmacy costs, and how future CGRPs will impact payers’ decisions.
Best Poster by a Student Pharmacist: Waverly Yang, Pharmacy Student, University of Texas at Austin College of Pharmacy
The association of prescription opioid utilization and expenditures with metropolitan and nonmetropolitan status a retrospective analysis using Texas Medicaid pharmacy claims data (poster #U72)
Waverly’s research expresses the population alignment with the national trend of rural patients having a higher likelihood of receiving an opioid prescription than patients in urban areas. County-level data was attained from Texas Health and Human Services Commission 2016-2017 claims data. Payer insights into patterns like residential location and prescribing habits inspire innovative approaches to reducing opioid-related deaths and expenditures. Further research is needed to understand statistically significant factors influencing opioid prescribing practices, and to identify other diseases where such patterns are critical in reducing healthcare expenditures.
Originally published in the June 2020 AMCP Foundation Insights e-newsletter.