This study used national Medicaid data from 1994-2003 to investigate trends in noninstitutional drug utilization and expenditures in the Medicaid Program. We found that there was a substantial increase in both drug utilization and expenditures during this timeframe. Increased utilization resulted from increases in Medicaid enrollment, the mean number of prescriptions per enrollee, mean nominal ...

As self-medication is a worldwide problem of public health, this article had as objective to evaluate the behavior of the future health professionals with regard to the drug utilization, particularly, to the self-medication practice. 223 academic students from a public university in Recife City were interviewed, selected by proportional share in each course. A questionnaire on the drug utilizat...

BACKGROUND The high cost and undesirable consequences of polypharmacy are well-recognized problems among elderly long-term care (LTC) residents. Despite the implementation of the 1987 Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, which requires pharmacist review of drug regimens in this setting, medical and drug costs for LTC residents have continued to increase. OBJECTIVE This study evaluates the North...

ARQUIVOS DE MEDICINA, 22(2/3):69-74 Drug utilization studies aim to evaluate factors related to the prescribing, dispensing, administering and taking of medication, and its associated events (either beneficial or adverse). Since the early 1960’s the interest in Drug Utilization Studies has been increasing, first with market-only purposes, then for evaluating the quality of medical prescription ...

BACKGROUND/AIMS Intranasal mupirocin and chlorhexidine bathing are candidate strategies to prevent healthcare-associated infections caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). In Korea, intranasal mupirocin is not available, and mupirocin ointment, an over-the-counter drug, has been used indiscriminately. Furthermore, because it is covered by health insurance, mupirocin is eas...

Background: The inappropriate use of aminoglycosides has harmful effects such as the development of resistant pathogens and the incidence of nephrotoxicity and ototoxicity. Therefore, drug utilization evaluation of these drugs may improve their usage remarkably. The aim of this study was to assess the usage pattern of amikacin in an internal medicine ward.Methods: This cross-sectional study was...

The purpose of the study was to examine the cost-effectiveness of managed care interventions with respect to prescriptions for chronic illness sufferers enrolled with a specific medical scheme. The illnesses included, were epilepsy, hypertension, diabetes and asthma. The managed care interventions applied were a primary discount; the use of preferred provider pharmacies, and drug utilization re...

Introduction: This study aimed to investigate whether pre-operative dexamethasone could ameliorate transient hypoparathyroidism outcome through total thyroidectomy.   Materials and Methods: This randomized clinical trial study was conducted on 128 patients underwent total thyroidectomy from March 2014 to April 2015. Patients were randomly assigned to two groups of experimental receiving 8 mg IV...

BACKGROUND Canadians receive over 422 million prescriptions and spend over $26 billion annually on drugs. Yet, we do not systematically capture information on whether the right drugs reach the right people with the intended benefits, while avoiding unintended harm. It is important to identify and understand the effectiveness of approaches used to improve prescribing and medication use. OBJECT...