BACKGROUND The generic dispensing ratio (GDR)-the number of generic fills divided by the total number of prescriptions-is a standard performance metric on which pharmacy benefit designs and their managers are routinely evaluated. Higher GDRs are considered important because they consistently produce lower prescription drug costs. OBJECTIVE To (a) quantify the relationship between GDR and gros...

Since outpatient prescription drug use is not covered by Medicare, it is a major source of out-of-pocket expenditures for the elderly. By one estimate, severely disabled elderly persons spend more than half their out-of-pocket health expenditures on outpatient prescription drugs. What makes this financial burden all the more daunting is that half the elderly population has no insurance coverage...

BACKGROUND Modern drug therapy accounts for a major share of health expenditure and challenges public provider resources. The objective of our study was to compare drug expenditure trends for ten major drug classes over 16 years at Maccabi Healthcare Services (MHS), the 2(nd) largest healthcare organization in Israel. METHODS A retrospective analysis of drug expenditure per HMO beneficiary be...

Abstract Purpose To report historical patterns of pharmaceutical expenditures, to identify factors that may influence future spending, and predict growth in drug spending 2021 the United States, with a focus on nonfederal hospital clinic sectors. Methods Historical were assessed by examining data purchases from manufacturers using IQVIA National Sales Perspectives database. Factors hospitals cl...

OBJECTIVE To estimate, among privately insured youth in the U.S., medical expenditures associated with diabetes and the difference in medical expenditures between individuals with insulin-treated diabetes mellitus (ITDM) and with non-ITDM (NITDM). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Using the 2007 MarketScan commercial claims and encounter database, we analyzed data for 49,356 youth (aged ≤ 19 years)...