Clinically unintended medication switches and inability to prescribe preferred medications under Medicare Part D

0.0039) of adverse events. These findings call for caution in medication switches for stable patients and support prescription drug policies promoting access to clinically indicated medications and continuity for clinically stable patients.

Access emergency room formulary hospitalization management Medicaid Medicare medication pharmacopsychiatry psychopharmacology public continuity Article Notes This study was funded by grants from the American Psychiatric Foundation (APF) and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) (U18HS016097) under a subcontract with Rutgers University’s Center for Education and Research on Mental Health Therapeutics. AHRQ funding provided support for analyses of the data and manuscript development.

Although a consortium of industry supporters, including Astra Zeneca, Bristol Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, Forest, Janssen, Sanofi-Aventis, Pfizer and Wyeth, provided financial support to the APF for the development and implementation of this study, the American Psychiatric Institute for education and Research (APIRE) had complete discretion and control over the design and conduct of this study and analyses and interpretation of the resulting database and of the reporting of the findings, with no input on or approval of the manuscript from the study’s funders. Only Drs West and Rubio and Mr Rae received research support through the APF grant.