Business Wire - Verispan Reports: Prescription Samples for Seniors Falling in 2006
YARDLEY, Pa. — The number of prescription samples given at doctors’ offices to patients 65 and older dropped during the first 7 months of 2006 compared to the same time period last year. Cholesterol reducers and diabetes medications experienced the greatest declines in samples issued among the top 10 therapeutic categories for seniors, falling 6% and 2%, respectively.
At the same time, the gap continued to widen between generic and branded share of total prescriptions, with generics accounting for 56% of all prescriptions. Generic penetration is impacting all methods of payment– cash, Medicaid, third party and Medicare Part D. During the first 7 months of 2006, 56% of all Medicare Part D prescriptions were for generic products.
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The generics furosemide oral and lisinopril accounted for 18% of total prescriptions among those paying with Medicare Part D during the first 7 months of 2006; these generics were the most often dispensed products in the hypertension market. The cholesterol product Lipitor generated 672,000 prescriptions in this payer segment, followed by simvastatin, or generic Zocor, with 14% of the cholesterol market among Medicare Part D payers.
According to Verispan’s Physician Drug & Diagnosis Audit, 21% of visits to office-based physicians are by Medicare Part D participants. Medicare Part D participants are most often visiting their office-based physician for hypertension and hyperlipidemia.
For more information about Verispan’s Physician Drug & Diagnosis Audit, or other Verispan services, please contact Tara Hamm at (267) 685-4423.
About Verispan
Verispan, a healthcare informatics joint venture of Quintiles Transnational Corp. and McKesson Corp., provides a broad array of information products and services to the healthcare industry, including sales targeting and compensation products; market research audits; healthcare profiles; comprehensive managed care offerings; primary market research; data integration, warehousing and mining; data analysis and consulting; direct mail; list services; disease management studies; clinical trial investigator targeting and protocol recruitment evaluation; healthcare outcomes; and cost/benefit analyses, among many others. Verispan is also the nation’s leading provider of patient-centric longitudinal data, with dozens of products used by clients spanning the industry.
Headquartered in Yardley, Pa., Verispan employs over 500 dedicated healthcare information professionals. The company’s Web site is www.verispan.com.
COPYRIGHT 2006 Business Wire
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning
