Changing Patterns of Medication Use in Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis in a Medicaid Population. Effective Health Care Research Report No. 8

摘要

The objectives of the research was to examine changes in patterns of medication utilization in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Data from Tennessee Medicaid (TennCare) databases (1995-2004) were used to identify adults with both a diagnosis of RA and at least one disease modifying anti-rheumatic drug (DMARD) prescription each year. Annual age-specific utilization of DMARDs, glucocorticoids, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and narcotics was measured on the last day of each year to determine the point prevalence of use of these agents.