IMS Report Shows Slowing Growth on Prescription Spending
Cincinnati, Ohio, May 12, 2011
In a recent report entitled, The Use of Medicines in the United States - Review of 2010 the IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics reports slowing growth of spending on prescription medicines and declines in doctor office visits and new chronic therapy treatment intiations. More specfically. . .
- Overall, spending on prescription medicines in the US in 2010 increased by 2.3% to $307 Billion, considerably lower than the 5.1% spending growth during 2009.
- The number of visits to doctors' offices declined by 4.2% in 2010, while new therapy starts declined by 3.4 million during 2010 versus 2009.
IMS attributes these declines and slowing spending growth to a convergence of factors, including continued high unemployment levels, more people losing their healthcare coverage, greater use of generics, rising healthcare costs, and more careful healthcare spending.
Other noteable findings:
- The average patient co-payment declined 20 cents to $10.73 in 2010 primarily due to the growing use of generics, which now account for 78% of all retail prescriptions.
- Consumers are increasingly turning to chain drugstores for their prescriptions. increasing their share by 0.5%.
For additional insights about the changing healthcare landscape and its impact on the use of medicines, simply This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and we will send a FREE copy of the report to you.
Contact:
Bert Kollaard, MS
Vice President Client Services
IntelliQ Research & Strategy
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Tel:(513) 605-3633