San Francisco, CA: Boston Strategic Partners, Inc. (BSP) recently co-authored a poster titled ‘Opioid analgesic use and polypharmacy is routine in the treatment of post herpetic neuralgia (PHN); potential role for managed care intervention?’ at the AMCP Managed Care & Specialty Pharmacy Annual Meeting 2016. Results revealed that opioid use is prevalent in PHN treatment despite documented safety issues. Additionally, there exists a high degree of analgesic polypharmacy which potentially contributes to adverse effects. The poster was awarded a silver medal at the meeting on the basis of evaluation of the following 5 criteria: relevance, originality, quality, bias, and clarity (same criteria used by JMCP to evaluate manuscripts).
PHN is a painful long-term neuropathic condition and opioid analgesics are often used as second- or third-line treatment. Data was sourced from BSP team’s analysis of the Cerner Health Facts® database (containing information about 60 million unique patients over a 15 year timeframe) to determine the treatment landscape for PHN. Quantitative outcomes assessments of patients receiving different analgesia regimens were performed using propensity-score matched populations. Based on the outcomes, the research team comprising of BSP researchers: Dr. Victor Khangulov, Dr. Jeff Skaar and Dr. Fred Peyerl and Dr. Jeffrey Gudin at Englewood Hospital Pain Management, NJ and Dr. Kalpana Patel at Scilex Pharmaceuticals, PA inferred that managed care organizations and pharmacists have the opportunity to apply evidence-based guidelines and create awareness regarding the potential risks associated with recurrent prescriptions of opioid and CNS depressants to PHN patients.
About AMCP
The Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) is a national professional association of pharmacists, health care practitioners and others who develop and provide clinical, educational and business management services on behalf of more than 200 million Americans covered by a managed pharmacy benefit.
See more at: http://www.amcp.org/
About Boston Strategic Partners
Boston Strategic Partners, Inc. is a leading global healthcare consulting firm offering services to the life sciences industry in the areas of Business and Clinical Strategy, Health Economics and Outcomes research (HEOR) and Medical Communications, Regulatory Strategy and Financial Advisory.
See more at: http://www.bostonsp.com
Contact: info@bostonsp.com