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Monitoring Trends after Adoption of Arkansas’ Drug Formulary
Vennela Thumula, Te-Chun Liu
March 30, 2023 Related Topics: Drug Formularies, Physician Dispensing, Prescription Drugs and Opioids
This report is a part of a series of studies that examine the impact of drug formularies in five states (Arkansas, California, Indiana, Kentucky, and New York) that implemented formularies in 2018 and 2019. As of January 1, 2023, 17 states have adopted drug formularies, with several other states considering implementation. Findings from this study should therefore be of interest to stakeholders in Arkansas as well as those in other states considering the implementation of drug formularies in their jurisdictions.
In this study, we examine the impact of the implementation of the Arkansas workers’ compensation formulary on prescription drug utilization and costs, using detailed transaction data for prescriptions filled between January 1, 2016, and March 31, 2021, by workers within 12 months of injury. The Arkansas formulary went into effect for claims with injuries on or after July 1, 2018.
Monitoring Trends after Adoption of Arkansas’ Drug Formulary. Vennela Thumula and Te-Chun Liu. March 2023. WC-23-21.
Copyright: WCRI
pdf, 399KB
Research Questions:
- Did the formulary reduce overall prescription utilization?
- What was the impact on drugs with different status under the Arkansas workers’ compensation drug formulary—allowed, allowed with limits, and preauthorization required?
- What was the impact on various drug groups—opioids, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), dermatological agents, musculoskeletal therapy agents, anticonvulsants, compounds, and others?
- Did the formulary reduce prescription payments per claim?
