A new study , out today in the Journal of the American Medical Association , has found that pharmacy closures in communities around Colorado significantly impact patient access to anticonvulsant medications, typically used to treat epilepsy, neuropathic pain and psychiatric disorders. Missing doses of this class of medication can result in increased mortality, pain and emergency room visits. Researchers, led by Kelly Anderson, Ph.
D., MPP, assistant professor at the University of Colorado Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, sought to investigate how pharmacy closures impact usage for a Medicare protected class of medications, or medications that Medicare prescription drug plans must cover. While access to these medications is critical, study results find pharmacy access disrupts medication refills.
Researchers used Colorado all-payer claims data to define patients who were exposed to community pharmacy closures between January 2018 and June 2022, identifying 39 closures in that time. They found a15.6% reduction in fills and a 14.
4% reduction in days supplied. "Additionally, we found that the disruption in refilling anticonvulsant medications persists for up to 6 months after pharmacy closures," says Anderson. "We also found that while mail-order pharmacies can be a helpful way for some patients to access medications, mail-order pharmacies did not meaningfully fill in the gap when patients were exposed to a pharmacy closure.
" This study builds on existing res.