Center for Pharmaceutical Policy and Prescribing

CP3's Dr. Jenny Lo-Ciganic was part of a team that examined associations between trajectories of #buprenorphine use & time to adverse outcomes among youth. Bottom line: Medication adherence may prevent overdose, ED use, and hospitalization.

Read more: publications.aap.org/pediatrics/a...

CP3's @timandersonmd.bsky.social was lead author on this paper describing study results including that most hospitalized older adults discharged w/cardiometabolic 💊 changes experienced 💊 errors or gaps in discharge planning.

Read more @journalgim.bsky.social:
link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Growing use of antiobesity medications means that clinicians must be aware of risks and benefits of starting & stopping them. In @jamainternalmed.com, Dr. Elizabeth Oczypok & CP3's @timandersonmd.bsky.social share important lessons gleaned from research settings.

jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

The DEMONSTRATE trial will assess a #MachineLearning based clinical decision support tool to reduce #opioid harm in elevated risk patients. This paper describes the protocol that will provide real-world evidence for the tool.

Read more: www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/14...

Medicare users are leaving billions of dollars of benefits unused Millions of Americans using Medicare Advantage may be leaving billions of dollars worth of benefits unused.

CP3's Dr. Luke Berenbrok spoke with @newsweek.com about ways #Medicare users can ensure they are using all of their benefits, especially those for OTC items. He suggests talking with community pharmacists for help with understanding what products are covered.

www.newsweek.com/medicare-use...

CP3’s Dr. Julie Donohue and colleagues urge continued investment in strong, objective health policy research—calling for innovative methods and data sources to guide the future of health care and strengthen the evidence base.

Read more @jamahealthforum.com:
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

🆕 @jamainternalmed.com, CP3's @bryantshuey.bsky.social, @timandersonmd.bsky.social, & Dr. Ted Park break down new ASAM #benzodiazepine tapering guidelines, highlighting how to support safer #deprescribing, especially for high-risk patients.

jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

@pittgim.bsky.social

From singing robots to living laboratories, care leaders seek solutions to aging Pittsburgh’s needs Aging populations in Western Pennsylvania and assisted living staffing shortages prompt tech innovations and workforce development efforts.

Have you heard of Pitt's Healthy Home Lab? It's one of the innovations led by our parent org, Pitt's Health Policy Institute. In @publicsource.org, read about it and other solutions to help older adults:
www.publicsource.org/pennsylvania...

ICYMI: CP3's @bryantshuey.bsky.social was recently chosen as a @nam.edu State Health Policy Fellow. Dr. Shuey will use his expertise in addiction issues to advise the PA Department of Health's Office of Drug Surveillance and Misuse Prevention.

www.medschool.pitt.edu/news/bryant-...

🆕editorial co-authored by CP3’s Dr. Julie Donohue argues that as health policy enters a turbulent era, research must focus not only on access, cost, & quality, but also on system innovations, SDoH, & emerging tools like AI.

@jamahealthforum.com:
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

🆕study co-authored by CP3’s Dr. Bernie Good finds that a targeted pharmacy-care-management service ⬆️💊 adherence & ⬇️resource use among Medicare Advantage beneficiaries—supporting broader use of pharmacist-led models in managing cardiometabolic conditions.

Read more: www.jmcp.org/doi/10.18553...

New study co-authored by CP3’s Dr. Katie Suda found repeat C. difficile testing within 7 days was uncommon (4.5%) but more frequent in long-term care and among resident-ordered tests—highlighting opportunities to strengthen diagnostic stewardship.

www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

New study from CP3 finds buprenorphine initiation in older adults rose in 2018–19 but plateaued thru 2021 despite access efforts—showing need for targeted implementation & clinician education to boost MOUD use.

@agsjournal.bsky.social

agsjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

New study co-authored by CP3’s Dr. Katie Suda & Yilei Liu found that 1 in 10 pediatric dental visits involving opioids led to overdose or persistent use—highest in young children. Highlights need for caution and nonopioid pain management. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41081662/

New study co-authored by CP3’s Dr. Katie Suda found that antibiotic durations for common infections in older adults are often longer than guidelines recommend, highlighting opportunities to reduce overuse and improve antimicrobial stewardship.

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41050542/

New study co-authored by CP3’s Dr. Tom Radomski finds standard criteria for medication appropriateness may not align w/shifting goals of care in dementia. Integrating goals-of-care data could improve 💊optimization.

More @agsjournal.bsky.social: agsjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Congratulations to our colleague @mirandayaver.bsky.social for being named one of the @academyhealth.bsky.social Champions for Health Services & Prevention Research! Well deserved!

academyhealth.org/page/champio...

AI-powered clinical tool aims to prevent opioid disorder relapse » College of Pharmacy » University of Florida The PROTECT tool employs machine learning algorithms to predict a patient’s risk of relapse.

ICYMI, the PROTECT project, w/CP3’s @jennylociganic.bsky.social & @walidgellad.bsky.social as co-investigators, secured a NIH/NIDA grant to build an #AI clinical tool for predicting relapse in #buprenorphine patients.

@pittgim.bsky.social @pittdeptofmed.bsky.social

pharmacy.ufl.edu/2025/10/09/a...

🆕study co-authored by CP3’s @timandersonmd.bsky.social describes a psychologist-led mindfulness-informed CBT program designed to complement pharmacist support in helping older adults reduce or stop benzos. Next step: testing feasibility in a pilot trial.

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Congrats to CP3's @bryantshuey.bsky.social for being selected as a @nam.edu State Health Policy Fellow! He'll gain even more experience in advising state policymakers to improve health in PA.

nam.edu/news-and-ins...

@pittgim.bsky.social @pittdeptofmed.bsky.social

New preprint co-authored by CP3’s @jennylociganic.bsky.social: PGx can help match patients to safer opioids. An ensemble ML model (XGB+SVM-RBF) best predicted PGx uptake (AUC 79.6%). With further validation, it could support real-world clinical decision tools. www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...

New study co-authored by CP3’s Dr. Ted Park finds over 1 in 5 opioid/benzo-naïve patients started 🆕Rx after surgery, while half with prior use continued. Many fills reflect preexisting use—highlighting need for tailored risk management.

More @acsjacs.bsky.social:
journals.lww.com/journalacs/a...

🆕study in 🫀co-authored by CP3’s @timandersonmd.bsky.social examines acute ⬆️ #bloodpressure in hospital settings. Clinicians often don’t treat it, citing uncertainty about dx thresholds & risks—highlighting need for clearer guidelines & decision support tools.

More: heart.bmj.com/content/earl...

New study co-authored by CP3’s Dr. Coleman Drake finds that a 2008 federal #methadone supply restriction led patients to switch to safer formulations, preventing an estimated 1,600 #overdose deaths over two years.

Read more: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Center for Pharmaceutical Policy and Prescribing The Center for Pharmaceutical Policy and Prescribing (CP3) at the University of Pittsburgh is a multidisciplinary hub connecting faculty to advance pharmacoepidemiology research and machine learning–b...

We’re excited to share the launch of CP3’s new website, now hosted on the @openscholar.bsky.social platform! The site offers a fresh, unified look with other Pitt Centers and Institutes and is designed to spotlight CP3’s research projects.

Take a look!
cp3.pitt.edu

🆕preprint co-authored by CP3’s Dr. Julie Donohue finds ACA #Medicaid expansion in NJ & PA led to large immediate increases in Medicaid enrollment among people using homelessness assistance services, especially those with frequent service contact.

www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-6...

🆕study w/ CP3 co-authors shows prescribers responded to the 2018-19 ARB (valsartan, losartan, irbesartan) recalls with large reductions in valsartan fills (↓ 57-59%), offset by increases in other ARBs. No major shift toward non-ARB antihypertensives.

journals.lww.com/lww-medicalc...

🆕analysis led by CP3's Dr. Katie Suda & Tate Miner & team shows National Action Plan implementation wasn't associated with changes in antibiotic sales after 2 years.

@mina-t.bsky.social @pittgim.bsky.social

Read more @ichejournal.bsky.social:
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

New @journalgim.bsky.social study: VA clinicians cite evidence uncertainty, patient expectations, and system barriers as drivers of low-value care. Clearer guidance, education & aligned incentives may help reduce it.

link.springer.com/article/10.1...

🆕paper, co-authored by CP3's @timandersonmd.bsky.social, describes findings that inpatient orthostatic hypotension was most often recognized after admission, but etiology and management differed across service lines.

Read more: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...