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Pharmacy Costs and Glycemic Control in the Department of Veterans Affairs

¹ VA Healthcare Network Upstate New York, Syracuse, New York
² SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, New York
³ VA Healthcare Analysis and Information Group, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
⁴ Office of the Medical Inspector, Department of Veterans Affairs, Washington, D.C
⁵ VA New Jersey Health Care System, East Orange, New Jersey
⁶ University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, New Jersey Medical School, Newark, New Jersey

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Ruth S. Weinstock, MD, PhD, Department of Medicine (CWB 353), 750 East Adams St., Syracuse, NY 13210. E-mail: weinstor{at}upstate.edu

OBJECTIVE—To determine pharmacy costs for glycemic treatment and its relationship to glycemic control in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) between 1994 and 2000.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—Patients with diabetes in the VA in FY1994, FY1996, FY1998, and FY2000 were identified using an ambulatory care pharmacy-derived database. Total drug acquisition costs, as well as expenditures for insulin, oral glycemic control agents, and self–blood glucose monitoring strips, were determined for these veterans. HbA_1c levels for the corresponding time periods were also obtained. Pharmacy costs (medications and monitoring) were examined by glycemic control treatment type.

RESULTS—In FY2000, 18% (n = 535,016) of all VA pharmacy patients were identified as having diabetes, and they received 30% of all pharmacy prescriptions. Overall, 23% of pharmacy expenditures for these patients were related to glycemic control medications and monitoring supplies. Annual pharmacy costs increased from FY1994 to FY2000. The greatest change was the higher expenditure for monitoring supplies through FY1998, which then decreased in FY2000. Increased pharmacy costs were associated with improved glycemic control. In FY2000, the mean last HbA_1c level (n = 446,384) fell to 7.6% from 7.8% in FY1998 (n = 204,136) and 8.4% in 1996 (n = 53,348).

CONCLUSIONS—Diabetes was associated with high pharmacy costs. Increasing medication expenditures were associated with improved HbA_1c levels at the aggregated national level. Policies concerning dispensing monitoring supplies and several diabetes quality improvement projects were initiated during this interval. Future challenges include initiatives to further optimize care while controlling costs.

Abbreviations: VA, Department of Veterans Affairs

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