Table 4
Examples of Factors Associated with False-Positive Pregnancy-Medication Alerts
| Pregnancy (diagnosis code) associated |
| Delayed transfer of delivery or pregnancy termination coded diagnoses from hospital administrative data to health plan administrative data |
| No coded diagnosis of pregnancy termination in administrative data |
| No documentation of pregnancy termination, delivery, or continuation in medical record around medication dispensing date |
| Incorrect estimate of pregnancy beginning or ending date(s) (related to 270 gestational age assumption triggering pregnancy alert) |
| Male incorrectly coded as female or male incorrectly coded with a pregnancy-associated diagnosis code |
| Medication associated |
| Medication classified as contraindicated in pregnancy by pharmacy information system pregnancy software module and not classified as contraindicated in pregnancy by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (pregnancy category D or X; see Appendix B) |
| Oral contraceptives: Dispensed during last few weeks of pregnancy with instructions to begin taking after delivery |
| Narcotic analgesics: Short-term use/prescription in second trimester of pregnancy (e.g., dental pain, cough) |
| Barbiturate: Butalbital/acetaminophen/caffeine combination dispensed for migraine after other medications had been prescribed without relief |
| Medication and pregnancy associated |
| Doxycycline: Dispensed on the same day as pregnancy end date |
| Clomiphene: Dispensed after spontaneous abortion |
