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The Effect of Informative Letters on the Prescription and Receipt of Schedule II Controlled Substances

NCT ID: NCT02345434

Last Updated: 2021-11-08

Study Results

Results available

Outcome measurements, participant flow, baseline characteristics, and adverse events have been published for this study.

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Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

1525 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2014-08-31

Study Completion Date

2015-08-31

Brief Summary

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Fraud and waste is estimated to cost the American health care system nearly $200 billion each year, and the public Medicare and Medicaid programs about $60 billion each year. This study will evaluate a new method for fighting fraud: mailing informative letters to outlier providers to notify them of their aberrant behavior. These letters are targeted at high prescribers of schedule II controlled substances in Medicare Part D. The investigators will look at the effects of these letters on the behavior of providers and their patients. These effects are of substantial policy interest as they suggest how to best design anti-fraud policies. They are also of academic interest, shedding light on the behavior of physicians and their patients.

Detailed Description

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Conditions

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Economics Fraud Delivery of Health Care Health Expenditures Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (U.S.)

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH

Blinding Strategy

NONE

Study Groups

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No informative letter

This is the control arm and it involves no contact with the prescriber

Group Type NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Informative letter

This is the treatment arm; prescribers in this arm receive an informative letter (called a comparative billing report or peer activity report)

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Informative letter

Intervention Type OTHER

The intervention is a letter that describes the Schedule II prescribing activity of the individual in comparison to a peer group of similar prescribers. It highlights the fact that the prescriber's activity is highly unlike her peers.

Interventions

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Informative letter

The intervention is a letter that describes the Schedule II prescribing activity of the individual in comparison to a peer group of similar prescribers. It highlights the fact that the prescriber's activity is highly unlike her peers.

Intervention Type OTHER

Other Intervention Names

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Comparative billing report Peer activity report

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Outlier with respect to the count of schedule II prescription drug events relative to peer group of prescribers in two of the three years 2011, 2012, and 2013
* Outlier with respect to the 30-day equivalent prescriptions of schedule II substances relative to peer group of prescribers in two of the three years 2011, 2012, and 2013

Exclusion Criteria

\- Deceased
Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sponsors

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Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

FED

Sponsor Role collaborator

General Services Administration (GSA)

FED

Sponsor Role collaborator

Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Responsibility Role SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

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Amy Finkelstein, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Related Links

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https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/525

American Economic Association Randomized Controlled Trials Registry Entry

Other Identifiers

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JPAL-LETTERS-SII

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id