Trial lecture - time and place
08.11.2024, 10.15, Vilhelm Bjerknes hus, auditorium 1
Quality of evidence for quantifying the prevalence, harm and costs of medication errors across Europe
Conferral summary
Denne avhandlingen viser at suboptimal legemiddelbruk hos eldre er forbundet med høye helsekostnader, og bidrar med ny informasjon om effekt og kostnadseffektivitet av en intervensjon for å optimalisere legemiddelbruk. I hovedanalysen var intervensjonen ikke kostnadseffektiv og påvirket ikke helserelatert livskvalitet. Analyser av undergrupper viste at intervensjonen dominerte standard behandling hos pasienter som ikke var utsatt for forlengede sykehusopphold, men disse funnene bør bekreftes av fremtidige studier.
Main research findings
There are gaps in the knowledge about how tools and interventions to improve medication use can affect resource use, healthcare costs, and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in older adults, or if such strategies are cost-effective.
This dissertation explores the distribution of healthcare costs of older adults with suboptimal medication use, particularly regarding potentially inappropriate prescribing and adverse drug reactions. It addresses the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of an intervention to optimize medication use, contributing to the limited knowledge base for decision making.
The findings indicate that suboptimal medication use is associated with high healthcare costs. The intervention did not affect HRQoL and was not cost-effective in the full study population. However, an analysis of subgroups of patients with or without prolonged hospital stays revealed heterogeneity in the population. The intervention dominated standard care in older adults without prolonged hospital stays. More research is needed to study medication optimization interventions in patients with or without prolonged hospitalizations, frailty, or dementia, and should include health economic outcomes and evaluations.