OBJECTIVES Prior research suggests that authorized generic drugs increase competition and decrease prices, but little empirical evidence supports this conclusion. This study evaluated the impact of authorized generic marketing on brand and generic prices. DESIGN Longitudinal analysis of the household component of the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. SETTING Interview panels over 12 years, ...

We describe a liquid-chromatographic assay for AZT in human plasma and urine. This assay involves the use of two internal standards, allowing reference of AZT peaks to the appropriate internal standard, the choice depending on the range of concentrations encountered. This method is isocratic, specific, sensitive enough to allow quantification of AZT in concentrations observed clinically, and re...

This brief provides a description of prescription drug use in nursing homes and a summary of current policy issues in this area. The brief first profiles the nursing home pharmaceutical market, outlining the major trends in demographics and drug utilization, the supply chain by which drugs go from manufacturers to pharmacies to nursing home residents, and the alternative arrangements by which p...

this commentary discusses pertinent issues from hyosun kim’s paper on online prescription drug promotion. the study is well-designed and the findings highlight some of the consequences of the food and drug administration’s (fda’s) decision to deregulate online advertising of prescription drugs. while kim’s findings confirm some of the early concerns, they also provide a perspective of implement...

BACKGROUND: Prescription drug misuse among young adults is increasingly viewed as a public health concern, yet most research has focused on student populations and excluded high-risk groups. Furthermore, research on populations who report recent prescription drug misuse is limited. This study examined patterns of prescription drug misuse among high-risk young adults in Los Angeles (LA) and New ...

previously fatal conditions, such as bacterial infections. Vaccines now shield us from viral and bacterial diseases like polio. Even conditions that were considered fatal until recently, such as HIV/AIDS, today no longer carry an automatic death sentence. The pharmaceutical industry has driven the development of various drugs since the early 20th century. During this period, due to its role in ...

The rising cost of prescription drugs has caused public officials to restructure prescription drug coverage and payment policies in Medicaid. This study examines Medicaid utilization and payments for prescription drugs from 1990 to 1997. Medicaid prescription drug payments grew from $4.4 billion in 1990 to almost $12 billion in 1997, representing an average annual increase of 15.3 percent. In 1...

A cross-sectional study was conducted to examine the use of prescription drugs among elderly patients (> or = 60 years old) admitted to medical wards in Hospital Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. A total of 204 elderly (101 men and 103 women) were interviewed. Eighty two percent of the elderly were taking at least one prescription drug, with 39.2% taking > or = 5 drugs. Prescription drugs commonly used w...

A prescription audit was carried out among the outpatient attendees of 31 secondary level hospitals under Maharashtra Health Systems Development Project. Use of drugs and cost of treatment of diarrhoea were studied using the prescriptions for diarrhoea collected for the prescription audit. Average number of drugs prescribed per prescription for treatment of diarrhoea was 3.7. It was higher than...

OBJECTIVE Prescription drug diversion, the transfer of prescription drugs from lawful to unlawful channels for distribution or use, is a problem in the United States. Despite the pervasiveness of diversion, there are gaps in the literature regarding characteristics of individuals who participate in the illicit trade of prescription drugs. This study examines a range of predictors (e.g., demogra...