Impact of secured prescription implementation on ambulatory pregabalin use in France: A regional assessment in the French Nouvelle‐Aquitaine

Abstract Aim The French authorities mandated the use of secure prescriptions for pregabalin on May 2021. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of this measure on pregabalin use and misuse in Nouvelle‐Aquitaine, a southwestern French region with around six million inhabitants. Methods This study was performed from the Nouvelle‐Aquitaine regional databases of the French healthcare insurance system. It included all individuals who received at least one pregabalin reimbursement between 24 May 2020 and 24 May 2022. We analysed changes in the prevalence and incidence of pregabalin use and misuse, as well as the characteristics of pregabalin users. Misuse was defined as use exceeding 600 mg/day or engaging in doctor or pharmacy shopping. Two time periods were considered: 24 May 2020–23 May 2021 and 24 May 2021–24 May 2022. Results The implementation of secured prescriptions led to a 16.9% [16.5; 17.3] decrease in pregabalin prevalent use and in a 36.6% [36.1; 37.1] decrease in pregabalin incident use. Additionally, pregabalin misuse reduced by 7.7% [7.0; 8.4] for prevalent misuse and 71.5% [69.3; 73.6] for incident one. Most users were women aged over 60. Patients' characteristics changed between the two periods. Use of psychotropic and opioid treatment increased in prevalent users. Conclusions The introduction of secured prescription forms was associated with a marked reduction in pregabalin use and misuse in Nouvelle‐Aquitaine, especially in incident misuse.