National trends in psychotropic medication prescribing before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The early months of the COVID-19 pandemic saw a decline in psychotropic medication use; however, little is known about how this trend evolved as the pandemic progressed and how it varied across different payers in the United States. Using a national multi-payer pharmacy claims database and adopting a quasi-experimental research design, this study examines trends in psychotropic medication prescriptions dispensed from July 2018 - June 2022. The study finds that the number of patients with dispensed psychotropic medications and the number of psychotropic medications dispensed declined during the early months of the pandemic but experienced a statistically significant growth in later periods compared to the pre-pandemic rate. Average days supply of psychotropic medications dispensed increased significantly throughout the pandemic. Commercial insurance remained the primary payer for psychotropic medication during the pandemic, but there was a significant increase in the number of prescription fills covered under Medicaid. This implies that public insurance programs played an increasing role in financing psychotropic medication use during the COVID-19 pandemic.

National trends in buprenorphine prescribing before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

OBJECTIVE: Recent studies have shown that early in the COVID-19 pandemic, rates of buprenorphine prescription dispensing for opioid use disorder (OUD) were relatively stable. However, whether that pattern continued later in the pandemic is unclear. This study examines the monthly rate of dispensed buprenorphine prescriptions during the early period and the later period of the pandemic. METHODS: The study uses interrupted time series analysis to examine buprenorphine prescription dispensed, average day's supply, payment source, and the number of patients with a dispensed buprenorphine prescription. The study utilized January 2019-April 2021 data from IQVIA National Prescription Audit, PayerTrack and Total Patient Tracker databases. RESULTS: After an initial increase in the number of patients prescribed buprenorphine in the early period of the pandemic, the monthly rate of patients prescribed buprenorphine increased at a lower rate compared to the pre-pandemic period (6100 vs 4600/month). The study observed a decline in the number of buprenorphine prescriptions dispensed both in levels and growth rate during the pandemic, but an increase occurred in the average day's supply of buprenorphine prescriptions (17 days pre-pandemic vs 18.6 day during the pandemic). Medicaid became the primary payer of buprenorphine prescriptions as the pandemic continued, while buprenorphine prescriptions paid for by private insurance declined. DISCUSSION: Expanding and maintaining access to treatment for OUD were key priorities in federal and state responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. The results of our study underscore the importance of policy efforts to help increase buprenorphine prescribing for OUD.

Addressing Major Health Disparities Related to Coronavirus for People With Behavioral Health Conditions Requires Strength-Based Capacity Building and Intentional Community Partnership.

Far from being an equalizer, as some have claimed, the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed just how vulnerable many of our social, health, and political systems are in the face of major public health shocks. Rapid responses by health systems to meet increased demand for hospital beds while continuing to provide health services, largely via a shift to telehealth services, are critical adaptations. However, these actions are not sufficient to mitigate the impact of coronavirus for people from marginalized communities, particularly those with behavioral health conditions, who are experiencing disproportional health, economic, and social impacts from the evolving pandemic. Helping these communities weather this storm requires partnering with existing community-based organizations and local governments to rapidly and flexibly meet the needs of vulnerable populations.