Posted by Michael Wonder on 03 Mar 2020
Extended-release drugs could be costing U.S. health care system billions
1 March 2020 - If doctors prescribed short-acting medications that must be taken twice a day instead of once-a-day extended-release versions, billions in health care costs could be saved, a new study suggests.
Based on Medicare and Medicaid spending between 2012 and 2017, prescriptions for extended-release drugs cost the healthcare system almost $14 billion more than would have been spent on equivalent twice-a-day medications, researchers report in JAMA Network Open.
“It’s not a huge difference in terms of patient convenience, but the cost difference is remarkable,” said coauthor Dr. Ambarish Pandey of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.
