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Comparison of Full-time and Part-time Academic Detailing on Naloxone Prescribing at the U.S. Veterans Health Administration (307900)

*Mark Bounthavong, VA Health Economics Resource Center, Stanford University 
Melissa LD Christopher, VA Pharmacy Benefits Management Academic Detailing Service  
Michael A. Harvey, VA Pharmacy Benefits Management Academic Detailing Service 
Julianne E Himstreet, VA Pharmacy Benefits Management Academic Detailing Service  
Chad L. Kay, VA Pharmacy Benefits Management Academic Detailing Service 
Marcos K Lau, VA Pharmacy Benefits Management Academic Detailing Service  
Elizabeth M. Oliva, VA Program Evaluation and Resource Center, Office of Mental Health Operations 
Sarah J. Popish, VA Pharmacy Benefits Management Academic Detailing Service  
Daina L. Wells, VA Pharmacy Benefits Management Academic Detailing Service  

Keywords: academic detailing, full time employee equivalent, implementation, naloxone, education outreach,

Objectives To examine the impact of full-time equivalent employee (FTEE) allocation to academic detailers (AD) at the US Veterans Health Administration’s (VA) on naloxone (NAL) prescribing.

Design A retrospective quality assurance study using a fixed effects model. Previous internal descriptive analysis identified that a cutoff of 0.4-FTEE was associated with greater return on investment. We sought to determine whether this cutoff was associated with NAL prescribing and compared providers who had an interaction with an AD allocated >=0.4-FTEE to providers who interacted with an AD allocated <0.4-FTEE.

Results Overall, 80,395 NAL prescriptions were prescribed by 18,302 providers. In the fixed effects model, there was a >50% increase in the average monthly number of NAL prescriptions prescribed among providers who received a NAL-related educational outreach visit from an AD allocated >=0.40-FTEE compared to a similar provider who interacted with an AD allocated <0.40-FTEE (p=0.021).

Conclusions Implementing academic detailing needs to consider the amount of dedicated time for AD given competing VA priorities.