COVID-19 impact on multiple myeloma prescribing patterns.

Authors

null

Dipti Shah

CVS Health, Northbrook, IL

Dipti Shah, Kelly McAuliff, Elias Pittos, Amanda McCarthy, William Cavers, Rashmi Grover, Lucia Feczko, Elisea Avalos-Reyes, Kjel Andrew Johnson

Organizations

CVS Health, Northbrook, IL, CVS Health, Lincoln, RI

Research Funding

No funding received
None.

Background: COVID-19 has impacted several areas of oncology patient care, most notably the reduction of patient visits for treatments. Standard treatment of multiple myeloma (MM) involves a combination of intravenous (IV) and oral therapies. The purpose of this study is to assess the impact COVID-19 had on IV and oral medication prescribing patterns pre and during the COVID-19 pandemic among MM patients. Methods: This is a retrospective review of adult MM patients insured by a large commercial and Medicare health plan in the United States who started a new IV or oral MM agent during the study period. To assess the impact of COVID-19 on IV and oral medication prescribing patterns, we compareda pre-COVID period (March 1-August 31, 2019) to a COVID period (March 1-August 31, 2020). We utilized medical and pharmacy claims to identify patients and calculated new therapy starts per newly diagnosed patient (defined as the number of patients starting a new IV or oral medication for MM divided by the total number of patients with a first indication date of MM within the study timeframe). We compared rates using a Chi-square test; p-values ≤ 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results: 1,754 patients were enrolled in the study; there were no significant differences in demographic characteristics pre and during COVID-19 between the two groups with respect to age (67.05 vs. 66.64; p = 0.45), gender (p = 0.80), insurance plan type (p = 0.17), geographical region (p = 0.26) and medication (p = 0.59). During COVID-19, the number of newly diagnosed MM patients decreased by 22% (9,657 to 7,560) and the total number of new therapy starts decreased by 11% (930 to 824). When looking at rates of new therapy starts per newly diagnosed patient, both IV (11%; p = 0.03) and oral (51%; p = 0.03) medication rates significantly increased. Additionally, there were significant increases in new therapy start rates by region in the Northeast for oral (157%; p < 0.01) and West for IV (32%; p = 0.02) medications. There were no significant differences in new start rates by insurance plan type (all p > 0.08). Conclusions: While the total count of new therapy starts, a proxy for new diagnoses, decreased during COVID-19, the rate of new starts for both IV and oral therapies for patients diagnosed with MM significantly increased. These increased start rates may be explained by a remarkable 22% drop in the total number of newly diagnosed MM patients during COVID-19. As the pandemic continues, further study is warranted to understand how COVID-19 may impact IV vs. oral usage in MM.

Patient demographics.

Pre-COVID

N = 930
During COVID

N = 824
P-Value
Age (mean (SD))
67.05 (10.93)
66.64 (11.52)
0.45
Gender = M (%)
517 (55.6)
464 (56.3)
0.80
Line of Business (%)
0.17
Commercial fully insured
56 (6.0)
68 (8.3)
Commercial self-insured
293 (31.5)
262 (31.8)
Medicare
581 (62.5)
494 (60.0)
Region (%)
0.26
Mid America
230 (24.7)
200 (24.3)
Northeast
316 (34.0)
267 (32.4)
Southeast
237 (25.5)
197 (23.9)
West
147 (15.8)
160 (19.4)

Disclaimer

This material on this page is ©2024 American Society of Clinical Oncology, all rights reserved. Licensing available upon request. For more information, please contact licensing@asco.org

Abstract Details

Meeting

2022 ASCO Quality Care Symposium

Session Type

Poster Session

Session Title

Poster Session A

Track

Cost, Value, and Policy,Health Care Access, Equity, and Disparities,Patient Experience

Sub Track

Access to Treatment

Citation

J Clin Oncol 40, 2022 (suppl 28; abstr 123)

DOI

10.1200/JCO.2022.40.28_suppl.123

Abstract #

123

Poster Bd #

D22

Abstract Disclosures

Similar Abstracts

Abstract

2022 ASCO Annual Meeting

COVID-19 impact on multiple myeloma prescribing patterns.

First Author: Elias Pittos

First Author: Marina D. Kaymakcalan

Abstract

2023 ASCO Quality Care Symposium

Impact of medically integrated pharmacies on oral anticancer medication prescription abandonment.

First Author: Gury K. Doshi