The Effect of Informative Letters on the Prescription and Receipt of Schedule II Controlled Substances

Delivery of Health Care Clinical Trial

Official title:

The Effect of Informative Letters on the Prescription and Receipt of Schedule II Controlled Substances

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT02345434
• Other study ID #: JPAL-LETTERS-SII
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: August 2014
• Est. completion date: August 2015

Study information

• Verified date: October 2021
• Source: Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

Fraud and waste is estimated to cost the American health care system nearly $200 billion each year, and the public Medicare and Medicaid programs about $60 billion each year. This study will evaluate a new method for fighting fraud: mailing informative letters to outlier providers to notify them of their aberrant behavior. These letters are targeted at high prescribers of schedule II controlled substances in Medicare Part D. The investigators will look at the effects of these letters on the behavior of providers and their patients. These effects are of substantial policy interest as they suggest how to best design anti-fraud policies. They are also of academic interest, shedding light on the behavior of physicians and their patients.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 1525
• Est. completion date: August 2015
• Est. primary completion date: August 2015
• Accepts healthy volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers
• Gender: All
• Age group: N/A and older

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• Outlier with respect to the count of schedule II prescription drug events relative to peer group of prescribers in two of the three years 2011, 2012, and 2013
• Outlier with respect to the 30-day equivalent prescriptions of schedule II substances relative to peer group of prescribers in two of the three years 2011, 2012, and 2013

Exclusion Criteria:

• Deceased

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (U.S.)
• Delivery of Health Care
• Economics
• Fraud
• Health Expenditures

Intervention

Other:
• Informative letter
The intervention is a letter that describes the Schedule II prescribing activity of the individual in comparison to a peer group of similar prescribers. It highlights the fact that the prescriber's activity is highly unlike her peers.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
n/a

Sponsors (3)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab	Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, General Services Administration (GSA)

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	30-day Equivalent Prescribing of Schedule II Controlled Substances	The prescribing of schedule II controlled substances over the 3 months following the initial sending of the letters. Prescribing is defined as the total "days supply" of schedule II controlled substances attributed to the prescriber, expressed in "30-day equivalents" i.e. divided by 30.	3 months
Secondary	30-day Equivalent Prescribing of Schedule II Controlled Substances		1 month
Secondary	30-day Equivalent Prescribing of Schedule II Controlled Substances		6 months
Secondary	30-day Equivalent Prescribing of Schedule II Controlled Substances		9 months
Secondary	30-day Equivalent Prescribing of Schedule II Controlled Substances		1 year

External Links

•   American Economic Association Randomized Controlled Trials Registry Entry