Many countries use uniform cost-effectiveness criteria to determine whether adopt a new medical technology for the entire population. This approach assumes homogeneous preferences expected health benefits and side effects. We examine prescription drugs generate welfare gains when accounting heterogeneous by constructing quality- adjusted price indices colorectal cancer drug treatments. find tha...

BACKGROUND We sought to measure population-level adherence to antihyperlipidemics, antihypertensives, and oral hypoglycemics, and to develop a model for early identification of subjects at high risk of long-term poor adherence. METHODS Prescription-filling data for 2 million subjects derived from a payor's insurance claims were used to evaluate adherence to three chronic drugs over 1 year. We...

BACKGROUND In clinical trials, cholesterol-lowering medications have been proven to decrease mortality and morbidity and are strongly recommended as secondary prevention for patients with established coronary artery disease. Whether physicians and patients follow this recommendation is unknown. Our objective was to determine the rate at which patients fill at least one prescription for choleste...

Background and aims. The improper use of drugs due to irrational prescriptions is a common problem in Libya. This study aimed investigate the prescribing pattern predictors antibiotic prescription primary health care facilities three districts (east, west, south) Methods. In this retrospective study, 484 were examined. World Health Organization-recommended indicators for rational examined (WHO)...

The Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 added prescription drug coverage to Medicare beginning in January 2006. The prescription drug coverage is voluntary, although beneficiaries face a significant penalty for delaying enrollment. The drug coverage is provided through private drug plans; beneficiaries have a choice of staying in the original Medicare program ...

OBJECTIVE Prescription-drug diversion is a topic about which comparatively little is known, and systematic information garnered from prescription-drug abusers and dealers on the specific mechanisms of diversion is extremely limited. DESIGN A pilot ultrarapid assessment was carried out in Wilmington, Delaware, during December 2006 to better understand the scope and dynamics of prescription-dru...

BACKGROUND The intensity of the use of antidepressants in large populations can nowadays relatively easily be estimated using databases encompassing prescription data. There are shortcomings when using prescription databases as they contain no clinical data on patient illness. Antidepressants are prescribed for different illnesses, thus information on the indications could help when interpretin...

The aim of this study was evaluation of enoxaparin utilization in hospitalized patients who had received enoxaparin either for prophylaxis or for treatment of thromboembolic disorders. A total of  356 patients were included in this retrospective study and were analyzed for enoxaparin utilization in terms of prescription patterns, treatment strategy, dosing regimen, indications/contraindica...

Medicare Part D provides prescription drug coverage through Medicare approved plans offered by private insurance companies and HMOs. In this paper, we study the role of current prescription drug use and health risks, related expectations, and subjective factors in the demand for prescription drug insurance. To characterize rational behavior in the complex Part D environment, we develop an inter...