Americans Are Cutting Back On Prescriptions
5 CommentsBy Ed Silverman // July 16th, 2008 // 7:28 am
The number of prescriptions dispensed by US pharmacies is growing at its worst rate in at least a decade as consumers are squeezed by both a troubled economy and the growing burden of out-of-pocket health-care costs, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Data from IMS Health and Wall Street analysts indicate that the rate of prescription growth has fallen steadily since early last year and in recent months has slipped in and out of negative territory, the paper writes, adding that preliminary data suggest the number of prescriptions actually fell in the second quarter.
The hit is coming at the expense of some big brands. In May, branded meds accounted for nearly 31 percent of drugs dispensed, down from almost 46 percent in 2003, according to IMS. Pills for such chronic conditions as high cholesterol are vulnerable, since some patients think they can do without drugs for so-called silent diseases more easily than cancer or HIV, the paper writes.
The development also comes as employers and insurers have shifted a larger share of health-care costs to consumers in a bid to tame health care costs. The average copay for a preferred drug on an insurer’s tiered system rose 67 percent to $25 last year from $15 in 2000, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, the paper adds.
An April poll from the Kaiser foundation showed 23 percent of patients didn’t fill a scrip in the last year because of cost, up from 20 percent in 2005; 19 percent split pills or skipped doses, up from 16 percent in 2005, the Journal writes.
IMS data show growth in prescription volume for the first five months of this year slowed to 1.5 percent, the lowest rate at least since 1996. From 2003 to 2007, annual volume growth averaged 3 percent. In December 2007, total scrips fell by 2.1 percent, and the decline was 0.2 percent in April and 0.1 percent in May, according to the Journal.
Rich Rotfort
Some reasons for the drop in prescriptions may be that:
1. An increase in the number of Mail-Order prescriptions for a 90 day supply.
2. Walgreens and others are pushing their program for 90 day supply instead of the usual 30 days as covered by most insurances…therefore the number of prescriptions filled are reduced by a third.
LILli
It is not all about price, but also that tmany people are concerned about the after effects that medications are causing, especially the killer of all—-STATINS. I soken to hundreds of people complaining about statins and every statin had made them feel sick. They could not work or do their normal work routine. Doctors are covering up the many fatalies that statins have caused. That is due to the fact thst the medical profession does not report problems with adverse serious side effects, it is not mandorty,only if the doctorvolunteers. The time has come for the patient to have a voice in the toxic checmicals that the medical and pharmceuticals are pushing,whether it is necessary or not.
Jack2
Patients/Consumers can contact the company (or, if you prefer, the FDA’s Medwatch program directly at http://www.fda.gov/medwatch/how.htm or 1-888-INFO-FDA) to report an adverse event.
Also, most studies (although I’m too lazy to look up any refs now) show that price has the greatest single effect on whether or not a patient refills a prescription.
Just A Thought
Wonder if people are going to doctors less altogether? It seems sometimes that all they do is write prescriptions and put a band-aid on the problem.
Maybe the ads are doing more harm than good for the pharmaceutical companies (medical information burn out) and that people are coming to be aware of side effects that they didn’t consider before hearing them over and over on TV. Who here hasn’t watched those ads and thought to themselves~ ‘I’m better off with the condition than with 20 possible side effects’?
Or lack of trust in any entity that claims the solution to everything is to take a pill. People doing more and more of their own research instead of blindly swallowing something.
Top that all off with pharmaceutical literature all over the doctors offices, making them seem like millions of billboards with seating, across the country.
Etc..
Kelly
Thanks for the information on prescrptions. I suppose that makes encse. Rising pricing are likely to effect everything.
We recently wrote an article on prescription data at Brain Blogger. The compilation and dealing of physician prescribing habits has been a commonplace practice from the 1990’s to today. But, pharmacists have no idea that this is going on.
We would like to read your comments on our article. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Kelly