Impact of a Health Alert and Its Implementation on Flutamide Prescriptions for Women: An Interrupted Time Series Analysis

    June 2020 in “ BMC Health Services Research ”
    Raquel Vázquez-Mourelle, Eduardo Carracedo-Martínez, Adolfo Figueiras
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    TLDR Health warnings and public health actions led to a significant drop in flutamide prescriptions for women, but off-label use still continues.
    The study conducted by Vázquez-Mourelle et al. focused on the effects of a health warning about the risks associated with off-label flutamide use in women and the subsequent actions by the public health service in northwest Spain. Using a segmented regression model of an interrupted time series, the researchers observed a significant immediate reduction of 49.33% in the monthly value of defined daily doses of flutamide per 1000 inhabitants/day (DDD/TID) for women after the intervention. The mean value of the population percentage of DDD/TID of flutamide billed for women decreased from 34.4% to 23.72%. There was also a 19.92% reduction in total DDD/TID invoiced. However, no significant changes were noted in flutamide use among men or in the private medical sector. The study concluded that despite the health warning and actions taken, off-label drug misuse among ambulatory patients continued, indicating the need for more effective measures to curb off-label drug use.
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