TABLE 2.
Definition of active medications using pharmacy records
| Author, Year | Versiona | Scope | Index Date | Criteria for Active Medications Using Pharmacy Database |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fixed look-back period approaches | ||||
| Johnson, 199111 | - | 18 medication classes | Interview date | Any fills in the 90 days prior to index date. |
| Heerdink, 199512 | - | All medications | Interview date | Any fills in the 2 years prior to index date. |
| Lau, 199513 | A | 8 medication classes | Interview date | Any fills in the 90 days prior to index date. |
| B | 8 medication classes | Interview date | Any fills in the 30 days prior to index date. | |
| Sjahid, 199814 | A | 8 cardiac medication classes | Interview date | Any fills in the 6 months prior to index date. |
| Klungel, 199915 | A | Antihypertensive medications | Date of survey completion | Any fills in available records. Range 90 days to 16 months prior to index date. |
| King, 200117 | - | All medications | Date of nursing home visit | Any fills in the 12 weeks prior to index date. |
| Monster, 200218 | - | 7 medication classes | Date of survey completion | Any fills in the 1 year prior to index date. |
| Kwon, 200319 | - | Antidepressant medications | Date of survey completion | Any fills in the 90 days prior to index date. |
| Curtis, 200623 | - | Osteoporosis medications | Date of survey completion | Any fills in the 180 days prior to index date. |
| Glintborg, 200725 | - | 5 medications | Date of hospital admission | Any fills in the 6 month prior to index date. |
| Haukka, 200726 | - | 8 psychotropic medication classes | Interview date | Any fills in the 6 months prior to index date. |
| Nielsen, 200828 | A | 16 medication classes | Interview date | Any fills in the 90 days prior to index date. |
| Pit, 200829 | A | 6 medication classes and 3 individual medications | Interview date | Any fills in the 30 days prior to index date. |
| B | 6 medication classes and 3 individual medications | Interview date | Any fills in the 60 days prior to index date. | |
| C | 6 medication classes and 3 individual medications | Interview date | Any fills in the 90 days prior to index date. | |
| D | Benzodiazepines and NSAIDS | Interview date | Any fills in the 180 days prior to index date. | |
| E | Benzodiazepines and NSAIDS | Interview date | Any fills in the 365 days prior to index date. | |
| Noize, 200930 | - | 38 medication classes | Interview date | Any fills in the 60 days prior to index date. |
| Haapae, 201032 | - | 5 medication classes | Date of survey completion | Any fills in the 6 months prior to index date. |
| Rikala, 201033 | A | 3 classes of psychotropic medications | Interview date | Any fills in the 4 months prior to index date. |
| B | 3 classes of psychotropic medications | Interview date | Any fills in the 6 months prior to index date. | |
| C | 3 classes of psychotropic medications | Interview date | Any fills in the 1 year prior to index date. | |
| Allin, 201334 | A | Antihypertensives and oral diabetes medications | Interview date | Any fills in the 30 days prior to index date. |
| B | Antihypertensives and oral diabetes medications | Interview date | Any fills in the 100 days prior to index date. | |
| C | Antihypertensives and oral diabetes medications | Interview date | Any fills in the 130 days prior to index date. | |
| Richardson, 201335 | - | 19 medication classes | Interview date | ≥3 Fills in the 6 months prior to index date and ≥1 fill in the 1 month prior to index date |
| Colantonio, 201636 | A | Lipid-lowering medications | Phone interview date | Any fills in the 120 days prior to index date. |
| B | Lipid-lowering medications | In-person interview date | Any fills in the 120 days prior to index date. | |
| Lacasse, 201639 | - | 8 classes of analgesic medications | Date of questionnaire completion | Any fills in the 1 year prior to index date. |
| Medication-on-hand (legend duration) approaches | ||||
| Lau, 199513 | C | 8 medication classes | Interview date | Index date falls within the period from the [fill date] for a medication through the [fill date + 110% of the days' supply]. |
| Sjahid, 199814 | B | All cardiovascular medications | Interview date | Index date falls within the period from the [fill date] for a medication through the [fill date + days' supply]. |
| Klungel, 199915 | B | Antihypertensive medications | Date of survey completion | Index date falls within the period from the [fill date] for a medication through the [fill date + 110% of the days' supply]. |
| Lau, 200016 | - | All medications | Interview date | Index date falls within the period from the [fill date] for a medication through the [fill date + days' supply + 7-day grace period]. |
| Lund, 200320 | A | All medications | October 1, 2000 | Index date falls within the period from the [fill date] for a medication through the [fill date + days' supply]. |
| B | All medications | October 1, 2000 | Index date falls within the period from the [fill date] for a medication through the [fill date + days' supply] AND there is a fill both before and after the index date with a time period between fills of <90 days. | |
| C | All medications | October 1, 2000 | Index date falls within the period from the [fill date] for a medication through the [fill date + days' supply] AND there is a fill both before and after the index date with a time period between fills of <90 days. PLUS: A fill is required within 90 days before the index data for as-needed medications only. | |
| D | All medications | October 1, 2000 | Index date falls within the period from the [fill date] for a medication through the [fill date + days' supply] AND there is a fill both before and after the index date with a time period between fills of <90 days. PLUS: For as needed medications, there is a fill both ≤180 days before the index date AND ≤60 days after the index date. | |
| Boudreau, 200521 | - | 7 medication classes | Date of survey completion | At least 2 prescriptions for the medication were filled in the 12 months prior to index date AND the index date falls within the period from the [fill date] for a medication through the [fill date + days' supply + 60-day grace period]. |
| Caskie, 200622 | - | 16 medication classes | Interview date | Index date falls within the period from the [fill date] for a medication through the [fill date + days' supply + 7-day grace period]. For anti-infective medications only the grace period was 2 days rather than 7 days. |
| Shalansky, 200727 | All medications | Interview date | Index date falls within the period from the [fill date] for a medication through the [fill date + days' supply]. | |
| Nielsen, 200828 | B | 16 medication classes | Interview date | Index date falls within the period from the [fill date] for a medication through the [fill date + 110% of the days' supply]. |
| Warholak, 200930 | - | All medications | Date of hospital admission | Index date falls within the period from the [fill date] for a medication through the [fill date + days' supply]. |
| Drieling, 201638 | - | 4 medication classes | Date of survey completion | Index date falls within the period from the [fill date] for a medication through the [fill date + day's supply] OR gap of <60 days was present between the most recent preindex [fill date + days' supply] and the first postindex fill. |
| Other approaches | ||||
| Brown, 200724 | A | Lipid-lowering medications | Interview date | Any fills in the 15 days before or after the index date |
| B | Lipid-lowering medications | Interview date | Any fills in the 30 days before or after the index date | |
| C | Lipid-lowering medications | Interview date | Any fills in the 60 days before or after the index date | |
| D | Lipid-lowering medications | Interview date | Any fills in the 90 days before or after the index date | |
| Fujita, 201537 | A | Hypertension, diabetes, and lipid-lowering medications | Date of clinic visit | Any fills in the same month as the index date |
| B | Hypertension, diabetes, and lipid-lowering medications | Date of clinic visit | Any fills in 2 months prior or the same month as the index date | |
| Taipale, 201640 | - | 34 medication classes | Interview date | Variable and based on mathematical modeling of personal medication purchasing behaviors (PRE2DUP model) |
a
The following studies compared multiple approaches using different criteria to define active medications using pharmacy databases, noted by the version A-D: Lau (1995), Sjahid (1998), Klungel (1999), Nielsen (2008), Pit (2008), Rikala (2010), Allin (2013), Lund (2003), Brown (2007), and Fujita (2015). King (2001), Curtis (2006), Haukka (2007), and Noize (2009) also examined alternative approaches for defining active medications; however, the manuscripts only reported numeric results for the approaches listed in the tables.