Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion
Thorpe Research Paper of the Year
With one of the largest cohorts of patients with dementia-- that number is expected to double by 2030 -- improving dementia care is among VHA’s central aims. Dr. Thorpe’s ground-breaking work has uncovered and quantified the unfortunate association between dual health care system use and the risk of unsafe prescribing, especially for persons with dementia.
An article in the Annals of Internal Medicine by CHERP Investigator Joshua M. Thorpe, PhD, MPH, “Dual Health Care System Use and High-Risk Prescribing in Patients with Dementia” was named a VA HSR&D Research Paper of the Year.
Dr. Thorpe’s innovative, VA-funded study revealed new evidence of an important and urgent issue for the VA Healthcare System that had not been studied previously. The novel results generated immediate attention from VHA senior leaders.
With one of the largest cohorts of patients with dementia-- that number is expected to double by 2030 -- improving dementia care is among VHA’s central aims. Meanwhile, VHA’s top priority is improving access to care and expanding Veterans’ coverage to care outside VHA. Dr. Thorpe’s ground-breaking work has uncovered and quantified the unfortunate association between dual health care system use and the risk of unsafe prescribing, especially for persons with dementia.
Thorpe, et.al linked national data from 2007-2010 from the VA and Medicare to identify a sample of 76,000 Veterans. They found that compared with VA-users only, Veterans who used both VA and Medicare (dual-users) had more than double the odds of exposure to potentially unsafe medications, demonstrating that receipt of prescription medications across unconnected care systems increases the risk for unsafe prescribing.
Dr. Thorpe and colleagues' article was chosen for the HSR&D Article of the Year award for several reasons, including its potential to make significant impact on medication safety both inside and outside VA. David Gifford, MD, MPH, wrote an accompanying editorial, noting “On the surface, the study by Thorpe and colleagues seems to be only about medication prescribing for dementia in the VA system, but it could serve as the basis for an entire medical school course on health policy.”
Based on the immediate applicability of this article, senior VA leaders in Geriatrics and Extended Care, Pharmacy Benefits Management (PBM), and the Center for Medication Safety (VA MedSAFE) engaged Dr. Thorpe to fast-track implementation of new approaches to reduce the risk for potentially unsafe prescribing for Veterans.
