Prescription Drug Spending in USA Double

• “Over the last 10 years, the percentage of Americans who took at least one prescription drug in the past month increased from 44% to 48%. The use of two or more drugs increased from 25% to 31%. The use of five or more drugs increased from 6% to 11%.
• In 2007–2008, 1 out of every 5 children and 9 out of 10 older Americans reported using at least one prescription drug in the past month.
• The most commonly used types of drugs included: asthma medicines for children, central nervous system stimulants for adolescents, antidepressants for middle-aged adults, and cholesterol lowering drugs for older Americans.”¹

Furthermore, spending on prescription drugs in the U.S. totaled more than $234.1 billion in 2008 and this figure is more than double the amount spent in 1999.¹

Key Take Home Points

Research demonstrates that conservative chiropractic interventions may help offset one of the primary cost drivers in the current healthcare system: drugs. For example, a 2004 study by Sarnat and Winterstein⁴ conducted on nearly 22,000 patients over a four year period, demonstrated the following cost reduction when care was directed by a doctor of chiropractic:

1. 1. 51.8% reduction in pharmaceutical costs!
2. Assuming a simple extrapolation, a 51.8% reduction in prescription drug expenditure would have saved the US Health Care system over $121 BILLION in the last decade had Chiropractors directed patient care or at least were a major part of it.
3. Instead of 1/5 children being on prescription drugs in the US, perhaps parents should consider Chiropractic care as the first line of care. See Dr. Len Siskin’s article in this issue.
4. Perhaps the increase in prescription drug use in the USA is one of the driving forces behind the CCE’s recent attempt to change the course of the Chiropractic profession towards the use of drugs (see Dr. Joe Betz’ article in this issue). Chiropractors—THE PROFESSION—need to promptly steer CCE back to our roots and livelihood and away from the use of drugs and surgery as the first line of defense of Chiropractic patient care.

References

1. Gu Q, Dillon CF, Burt VL. Prescription Drug Use Continues to Increase: U.S. Prescription Drug Data for 2007–2008 NCHS Data Brief, No. 42, September 2010 US.
2. http://www.usatoday.com/yourlife/health/healthcare/2010-09-04-prescription-drugs_N.htm
3. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db42.htm
4. Sarnat R, Winterstein J. Clinical and Cost Outcomes Of An Integrative Medicine IPA. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics 2004; 27: 336-347.

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