Measures of Drug Utilization Based on Individual-Level Drug Dispensing Data (May 16, 2023)

Drug utilization studies are essential to facilitate rational drug use in the society. This webinar will provide an overview of drug utilization measures that can be used with individual-level drug dispensing data. Six topics will be reviewed: (1) basic measures of drug utilization which are used to describe changes in drug use over time or compare drug use in different populations; (2) treatment adherence measures with specific focus on persistence and implementation; (3) how to measure drug combinations which is useful when assessing drug-drug interactions, concomitant treatment, and polypharmacy; (4) prescribing quality indicators and measures to assess variations in drug use which are useful tools to assess appropriate use of drugs; (5) proxies of prescription drug misuse and skewness in drug use; and (6) considerations when describing the characteristics of drug users or prescribers.

This webinar is aimed towards students, trainees, young professionals, anyone interested in methodology and pharmacoepidemiologic research.