ArticleBMC rheumatology2022
Rapid monitoring of health services use following a policy to switch patients from originator to biosimilar etanercept-a cohort study in British Columbia.
Article in BMC rheumatology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed.
- Measuring the Impact of the Substitution of Innovator Biologics With Biosimilars on Uptake and Costs Among Ontario Public Drug Benefit Recipients.Clinical pharmacology and therapeutics · 2026Article
- Did a Non-Medical Biosimilar Switching Policy Cause an Increase in Non-Biologic/Biosimilar Health Care Resource Utilization or Cost in Patients With Inflammatory Arthritis?Arthritis care & research · 2026Article
- Clinical and Real-World Evidence on Etanercept Biosimilar Switching: A Narrative Literature Review of Efficacy and Safety.Advances in therapy · 2026Review
- Beyond Cost: Observations on Clinical and Patient Benefits of Biosimilars in Real-World Settings.BioDrugs : clinical immunotherapeutics, biopharmaceuticals and gene therapy · 2025Review
- The impact of biosimilar use on healthcare utilization among new users of etanercept for inflammatory arthritis: a population-based regression discontinuity analysis.Lancet regional health. Americas · 2025Article
- Monitoring a Mandatory Nonmedical Switching Policy from Originator to Biosimilar Infliximab in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Diseases: A Population-Based Cohort Study.Gastroenterology research and practice · 2023Article
- Treatment pattern trends of medications for type 2 diabetes in British Columbia, Canada.BMJ open diabetes research & care · 2022Article
- Interchangeability for Biologics is a Legal Distinction in the USA, Not a Clinical One.BioDrugs : clinical immunotherapeutics, biopharmaceuticals and gene therapy · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundDrug coverage policies that incentivize switching patients from originator to biosimilar products may result in significant health care savings. Our study aimed to detect early impacts on health services utilization following a mandated switch from originator to biosimilar etanercept in British Columbia (BC), Canada.
methodsWe conducted a prospective, population-based cohort study using linked administrative health data from BC (2010-2020). The policy cohort consisted of patients with inflammatory arthritis who used originator etanercept in 2019, prior to BC's Biosimilars Initiative switching policy. Three historical cohorts included patients with inflammatory arthritis who used originator etanercept in the years 2016, 2017, and 2018. We compared the daily cumulative incidences of drug refills and outpatient and inpatient services between the policy and historical cohorts. A likelihood ratio sustained (≥ 31 days) at 7.1 or higher compared with the null hypothesis was chosen a priori as a threshold for a potential impact of the policy.
resultsEach cohort contained between 1694 and 1963 patients. We detected several potential impacts: 1) a transient increase in etanercept refills between months three and eight (cumulative incidence difference of + 3.0%); 2) an anticipated increase in visits to physicians of any specialty between months three and eight (+ 2.6%); and 3) an anticipated increase in visits to a rheumatologist from the end of month three onwards (+ 12.8%). The policy had no impact on incidences of switching to a different biologic antirheumatic drug, visits to emergency departments, or admissions to hospitals.
conclusionsOnly transient and/or anticipated increases in drug refills and physician visits were observed during the study period. Additional research on clinical outcomes is recommended to strengthen the evidence that no long-term unintended negative health impacts are associated with BC's Biosimilars Initiative [switching policy].
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.