Rx Drug Research Articles

Rx drug wastage costing UK NHS millions, says new report

Rx drug wastage costing UK NHS millions, says new report

Prescription Drug Misuse Among Club Drug-Using Young Adults

Nonmedical prescription (Rx) drug use has recently increased, particularly among young adults. Using time-space sampling to generate a probability-based sample of club-going young adults (18-29), 400 subjects provided data on Rx drug misuse. Club-going young adults misuse Rx drugs at high rates. An overwhelming majority of the sample indicated lifetime use of pain killers, sedatives, and stimulants. A majority indicated recent pain killer use. Variations by gender and sexuality exist in this population. Young lesbian/bisexual women emerged as the group most likely to abuse Rx drugs. Research into the contexts influencing these patterns is imperative.

Legislation to Increase Rx Drug Safety

Legislation to Increase Rx Drug Safety

Rx-to-OTC switches likely to hit allergic rhinitis Rx drug market hard

Rx-to-OTC switches likely to hit allergic rhinitis Rx drug market hard

Rx drug use among fathers common around time of conception

Rx drug use among fathers common around time of conception

Direct-to-Consumer Drug Advertisements on Network Television: An Exploration of Quantity, Frequency, and Placement

Prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) drug advertisements that appear on television are among the most common forms of health communication reaching the U.S. public, but no studies to date have explored the quantity, frequency, or placement of these ads on television. We explored these questions by recording all programs and advertisements that appeared on network television in a southeastern city during a selected week in the summer of 2001 and coding each prescription and OTC drug ad for its frequency, length, and placement by time of day and television program genre. A total of 18,906 ads appeared in the 504-hour sample, including 907 OTC drug ads (4.8%) and 428 prescription (Rx) drug ads (2.3%), which together occupied about 8% of all commercial airtime. Although OTC drug ads were more common, Rx drug ads on average were significantly longer. Direct-to-consumer drug ads appeared most frequently during news programs and soap operas and during the middle-afternoon and early-evening hours. Overall, we found that direct-to-consumer drug advertisements occupy a large percentage of network television commercial advertising and, based on time and program placement, many ads may be targeted specifically at women and older viewers. Our findings suggest that Americans who watch average amounts of television may be exposed to more than 30 hours of direct-to-consumer drug advertisements each year, far surpassing their exposure to other forms of health communication.

Decline in public-sector Rx drug spending costs in Germany

Decline in public-sector Rx drug spending costs in Germany

Bevacizumab priced high, sales expected to exceed $US2b in 2009

Bevacizumab priced high, sales expected to exceed $US2b in 2009

Rx drug price differences leveling out in the US and Canada

Rx drug price differences leveling out in the US and Canada

US Rx drug spend, pharma market to undergo substantial growth

US Rx drug spend, pharma market to undergo substantial growth

Factors Associated with Women's Medication Use.

Health IssueResearch has consistently shown that while women generally live longer than men, they report more illness and use of health care services (including medication). In the literature, the reasons for women's elevated medication use are not clear. This paper investigates the associations between over-the-counter (OTC) and prescription (Rx) medication use and selected social and demographic variables in men and women.Key findingsWhile a larger proportion of women than men used medication throughout the study, the proportion of people using medication did not increase. The use of OTC and Rx medication increased by number of physician visits for women and men.Medication use increased with age, chronic disease and number of physician visits, and decreased with the perception of good to excellent health. The relationship with other factors varied for women and men depending on their education level, income and social roles. For women, the social roles of being married or previously married, being employed or being a parent did not increase their likelihood of medication use. Reported income adequacy is not associated with the chances of mediation use among highly educated women, but for women with low levels, medication use increases as income adequacy decreases.Data Gaps and RecommendationsMore complete data are needed about social roles and their relation to mediation use. Data that would allow an assessment of the appropriateness of OTC and Rx drug use or the reasons for such use need to be collected. More research is needed to better understand the distribution and determinants of specific medication use.

US Medicare Rx drug benefit bill passes Congress

US Medicare Rx drug benefit bill passes Congress

Bill Targets Rx Drug Advertising

Bill Targets Rx Drug Advertising

Rx drug use leads to economic disadvantages for US elderly

Rx drug use leads to economic disadvantages for US elderly

Eli Lilly to educate low-income US seniors on Rx drug cost savings

Eli Lilly to educate low-income US seniors on Rx drug cost savings

Generic drugs slow Rx drug spending rise in the US

Generic drugs slow Rx drug spending rise in the US

Lack of Rx drug insurance hinders access for US elderly

Lack of Rx drug insurance hinders access for US elderly

Funding shortfall looms if Rx drug spending continues to rise in UK

Funding shortfall looms if Rx drug spending continues to rise in UK

Policy needs to respond to Rx drug spending in the elderly

Policy needs to respond to Rx drug spending in the elderly

US states to contain drug costs with joint Rx drug plan

US states to contain drug costs with joint Rx drug plan