Background: Benzodiazepines (BZD) effectively treat anxiety and insomnia accompanying major health events, including hospitalizations. Prescribing regulations to decrease BZD misuse may negatively impact therapeutic uses.
Objective: To assess the impact of a Triplicate Prescription Program (TPP) on initiation of post-hospitalization BZD prescribing, both overall and among cardiac and cancer patients in the United States.
Design: Interrupted time-series of post-hospitalization BZD dispensing events to enrollees in the US Medicaid program in the states of New York (intervention group) and New Jersey (control group), before and after implementation of a TPP.
Study participants: Community-dwelling Medicaid enrollees in New York State (n = 67 962) and New Jersey (n = 71 701), hospitalized between 1 January 1988 and 30 November 1990.
Intervention: The New York State TPP, implemented on 1 January 1989, requires physicians to prescribe BZD on triplicate prescription forms for state surveillance.
Outcome measures: Rates and duration of new post-hospitalization use of BZD and substitute medications.
Results: Overall, a sudden and sustained 63.5% decrease [95% confidence interval (CI) -58.6% to -68.3%] in new post-hospitalization BZD dispensing-from a baseline rate of 44 discharges with BZD dispensing per 1000 discharges per month-followed the TPP in New York State, without discontinuity in the control state. Patients hospitalized for acute ischemic cardiac events experienced a 72.5% reduction (95% CI -55.5% to -89.4%), and cancer patients a 69.4% reduction (95% CI -36.7% to -100.0%). The TPP did not preferentially reduce BZD use lasting >2 months. Increased substitute use did not offset reductions in BZD use.
Conclusions: By decreasing new short-term post-hospitalization BZD use, the New York State TPP also had unintended effects.