Do free or low-cost antibiotic promotions alter prescription filling habits?

Pharmacy Practice

Jeremy Joslin¹  Andrew Fisher¹  Susan Marie Wojcik¹  William D Grant¹ 

关键词: Anti-Bacterial Agents;    Drug Utilization;    Pharmacies;    Professional Practice;    Physician's Practice Patterns;    United States;   

DOI  :  

学科分类：药理学

来源: Centro de Investigaciones y Publicaciones Farmaceuticas

【 摘 要 】

Objective : Because free sample of prescription medications have been shown to influence prescribing habits of physicians, we sought to discern if promotional efforts of a retail pharmacy influenced prescriptions filled in our county after a free antibiotic program was initiated. Methods : Retrospective analysis of prescription antibiotics filled throughout the county was performed. Prescriptions filled during the first 6 months of the year before the program was initiated were compared to prescriptions filled during the first 6 months of the year immediately following initiation of the promotion. Results : A total of 436,372 antibiotic prescriptions were dispensed during that time. The number of antibiotics filled that were included in the promotion increased by 13.4% while the number of antibiotics filled that were excluded from the promotion decreased by 20.4%. Conclusion : These data suggest that the promotional pricing of the antibiotics had a significant impact on the number of prescriptions filled in each category. Because a prescription written does not always equate to a prescription filled, further investigation is needed to confirm the relationship between these promotions and actual prescriber habits.

【 授权许可】

Unknown