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Factors Associated with Ordering Laboratory Monitoring of High-Risk Medications

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ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND

Knowledge about factors associated with provider ordering of appropriate testing is limited.

OBJECTIVE

To determine physician factors associated with ordering recommended laboratory monitoring tests for high-risk medications.

METHODS

Retrospective cohort study of patients prescribed a high-risk medication requiring laboratory monitoring in a large multispecialty group practice between 1 January 2008 and 31 December 2008. Analyses are based on administrative claims and electronic medical records. The outcome is a physician order for each recommended laboratory test for each prescribed medication. Key predictor variables are physician characteristics, including age, gender, specialty training, years since completing training, and prescribing volume. Additional variables are patient characteristics such as age, gender, comorbidity burden, whether the medication requiring monitoring is new or chronic, and drug-test characteristics such as inclusion in black box warnings. We used multivariable logistic regression, accounting for clustering of drugs within patients and patients within providers.

RESULTS

Physician orders for laboratory testing varied across drug-test pairs and ranged from 9 % (Primidone–Phenobarbital level) to 97 % (Azathioprine–CBC), with half of the drug-test pairs in the 85-91 % ordered range. Test ordering was associated with higher provider prescribing volume for study drugs and specialist status (primary care providers were less likely to order tests than specialists). Patients with higher comorbidity burden and older patients were more likely to have appropriate tests ordered. Drug-test combinations with black box warnings were more likely to have tests ordered.

CONCLUSIONS

Interventions to improve laboratory monitoring should focus on areas with the greatest potential for improvement: providers with lower frequencies of prescribing medications with monitoring recommendations and those prescribing these medications for healthier and younger patients; patients with less interaction with the health care system are at particular risk of not having tests ordered. Black box warnings were associated with higher ordering rates and may be a tool to increase appropriate test ordering.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the contributions of Devi Sundaresan, MA; Shawn Gagne, BA; and Yanfang Zhao, MA.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they do not have a conflict of interest.

Funding Sources

This study was funded by grants R18 HS17203, R18 HS17817, and R18 HS17906 from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Clinical Informatics, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, 1330 Beacon St., Suite 400, Brookline, MA, 02446, USA

    Shira H. Fischer MD, PhD

  2. Meyers Primary Care Institute, a Joint Endeavor of University of Massachusetts Medical School, Reliant Medical Group, and Fallon Community Health Plan, Worcester, MA, USA

    Shira H. Fischer MD, PhD, Jennifer Tjia MD, MSCE, Daniel Peterson MA, Jerry H. Gurwitz MD & Terry S. Field DSc

  3. University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA

    George Reed PhD

Authors
  1. Shira H. Fischer MD, PhD
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  2. Jennifer Tjia MD, MSCE
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  3. George Reed PhD
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  4. Daniel Peterson MA
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  5. Jerry H. Gurwitz MD
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  6. Terry S. Field DSc
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Correspondence to Shira H. Fischer MD, PhD.

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Fischer, S.H., Tjia, J., Reed, G. et al. Factors Associated with Ordering Laboratory Monitoring of High-Risk Medications. J GEN INTERN MED 29, 1589–1598 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-014-2907-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-014-2907-9

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