Comparison of Medication Prescribing Before and After the COVID-19 Pandemic Among Nursing Home Residents in Ontario, Canada

Accepted for Publication: May 21, 2021.

Published: August 2, 2021. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.18441

Open Access: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the CC-BY License. © 2021 Campitelli MA et al. JAMA Network Open.

Corresponding Author: Colleen J. Maxwell, PhD, School of Pharmacy, University of Waterloo, 200 University Ave West, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada (colleen.maxwell@uwaterloo.ca).

Author Contributions: Mr Campitelli had full access to all the data in the study and takes responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis.

Concept and design: Campitelli, Bronskill, Maclagan, Harris, Cotton, Tadrous, Gruneir, Maxwell.

Acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data: Campitelli, Bronskill, Cotton, Tadrous, Gruneir, Hogan, Maxwell.

Drafting of the manuscript: Campitelli, Hogan, Maxwell.

Critical revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content: Campitelli, Bronskill, Maclagan, Harris, Cotton, Tadrous, Gruneir, Maxwell.

Statistical analysis: Campitelli, Maclagan, Harris, Cotton, Gruneir.

Obtained funding: Bronskill, Maxwell.

Administrative, technical, or material support: Harris.

Supervision: Bronskill, Tadrous, Maxwell.

Conflict of Interest Disclosures: Dr Bronskill reported receiving grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), nonfinancial support from ICES (formerly Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences), and grants from the Ontario Health Data Platform (OHDP) during the conduct of the study. Dr Tadrous reported receiving grants from the Ontario Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Ministry of Long-term Care (MLTC) during the conduct of the study. Dr Maxwell reported receiving grants from the CIHR, nonfinancial support from the ICES, and grants from the OHDP during the conduct of the study. No other disclosures were reported.

Funding/Support: This research was funded by the CIHR through operating grant MOP-136854 (Exploring frailty and its role in the assessment of high-risk medications and risk of poor health outcomes in vulnerable populations), by ICES through an annual grant from the Ontario MOH and the MLTC; and by the OHDP, a Province of Ontario initiative to support Ontario’s ongoing response to COVID-19 and its related effects.

Role of the Funder/Sponsor: The sponsors had no role in the design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript; and decision to submit the manuscript for publication.

Disclaimer: The opinions, results and conclusions reported in this article are those of the authors and are independent from the funding sources. No endorsement by the ICES, the MOH or MLTC, OHDP, its partners, or the Province of Ontario is intended or should be inferred. Parts of this material are based on data and information compiled and provided by the CIHI; however, the analyses, conclusions, opinions, and statements expressed herein are those of the authors and not necessarily those of CIHI.

Additional Contributions: We thank IQVIA Solutions Canada Inc. for use of their Drug Information Database.

Additional Information: The data set from this study is held securely in coded form at ICES. Although data sharing agreements prohibit ICES from making the data set publicly available, access may be granted to those who meet prespecified criteria for confidential access at https://www.ices.on.ca/DAS. Please contact the authors for any supplemental information related to the study such as the study protocol, analysis plan, or analytic code. The full data set creation plan and underlying analytic code are available from the authors upon request, understanding that the computer programs may rely on coding templates or macros that are unique to ICES and are therefore either inaccessible or may require modification.