A investigation conducted by the A...

A investigation conducted by the AHRQ place that Medicaid spending on outpatient prescription physics increased from $11.6 billion in 1997 to $237 billion in 2002 an average increase of 20 percent for year. The number of prescriptions written for enrollee also rose as did the use of newer, more expensive classes of unsalable articles including antidepressants, cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors, proton cross-examine inhibitors, and cholesterol-lowering medications. Use of generic remedys overall declined only slightly, if it be not that changes for individual drugs were more substantial. The AHRQ said the data help identify classes of medications for which more evidence is exigencyed on the effectiveness of recent drugs, and could help contain costlinesss without reducing the quality of medical care. For more information, visit http://www.ahrq.gov/news/press/pr2006/meddrugpr.htm.

COPYRIGHT 2006 American Academy of Family Physicians

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