Pitt Pharmacy Associate Professor Joshua Thorpe, PhD, MPH, has received a $900,000 VA R01 equivalent award from the Department of Veterans Affairs for his project entitled, Dual Use of VA-Medicare Drug Benefits and Unsafe Prescribing in Dementia Patients. Thorpe and his team will evaluate the potential unintended consequences of the current federal policy allowing older veterans who are dually-eligible for VA Pharmacy Benefits and Medicare Part D to receive prescriptions from both VA providers and non-VA providers -- a policy that may be especially risky for patients with memory problems. Thorpe’s project will provide the VA and Center for Medicare Services with the evidence needed for making informed policy adjustments and clinical interventions.
Co-investigators on the project include Assistant Professor Carolyn T. Thorpe, PhD, MPH, pharmacy and therapeutics, Joseph Hanlon, professor of geriatric medicine, Walid Gellad, assistant professor of medicine and director of the University of Pittsburgh’s Center for Pharmaceutical Policy and Prescribing, Susan Zickmund, associate professor of medicine, and Bernie Good, professor of internal medicine and co-director of the VA’s Center for Medication Safety (VAMedSAFE) .
All investigators are health scientists in the Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion, a VA Health Services Research & Development Center of Innovation whose mission is to promote equity and quality in health and health care among Veterans and other populations.
