Did Ontario’s youth drug coverage change recorded benzodiazepine dispensing?
Changes in insurance coverage can change what pharmacy records show. An Ontario study used two policy dates to examine whether the recorded rate of benzodiazepine dispensing shifted among people age 24 and younger.
What changed after the two policy dates
The study used monthly data from January 2013 through March 2020. After OHIP+ began in January 2018, the model estimated an immediate increase of 12.9 people with a benzodiazepine dispensing per 100,000, with a 95% confidence interval of 7.5 to 18.3. The April 2019 restriction to youth without private insurance had no clear immediate effect in the study’s analysis. The authors also found that the increase after the original policy varied across demographic groups.
What a dispensing record establishes
The outcome was a pharmacy dispensing rate. It does not measure doses taken, duration of sedation, or why an individual received medication. When an individual timeline crosses a coverage change, compare pharmacy records across payers and check the treatment notes. The record may otherwise mix changes in access, payment and documentation with changes in the person’s medication use.
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