The use of psychoactive prescription drugs (PPDs) by young people is part of a broader worldwide trend towards the consumption of pharmaceuticals to improve social, emotional, and sexual performance. Few studies have examined how young people use PPDs in developing countries, where off-label use is likely to be greater due to weaker market controls. This study presents our findings on PPD use a...

OBJECTIVES To assess the impact of physician awareness to promote the prescription and the dispensing of generic drugs at hospital discharge. METHODS The study consisted in a Before/After Study design including the analysis of medical prescriptions at hospital discharge, after a pharmaceutical intervention to physicians in a geriatric ward. Each drug was classified according to its terms of p...

OBJECTIVES Our analysis assessed the impact of information on patients' preferences in prescription versus over-the-counter (OTC) delivery systems. METHODS A contingent valuation (CV) study was implemented, randomly assigning 534 lay people into the receipt of limited or extended information concerning new influenza drugs. In each information arm, people answered two questions: the first aske...

OBJECTIVE To identify medication use patterns among elderly people residing in areas with different socioeconomic status in the city of Fortaleza, Brazil. METHODS A total of 668 elderly (aged 60 years or older) residing in the city of Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil, selected from a multistage random sampling stratified by socioeconomic status (higher, intermediate, and lower areas), were interviewe...

BACKGROUND Over the past 50 years, there has been an increase in the utilization of prescribed, over-the-counter (OTC) medications, and natural health products. Although it is known that medication use is common among older persons, accurate data on the patterns of use, including the quantity and type of medications consumed in a generally healthy older population from a Canadian perspective ar...

Identifying sources of variability in the response to cancer chemotherapy requires knowledge of all variables, including concomitant medications, that can alter the metabolism and pharmacokinetics of chemotherapy. This study investigated the accuracy of the lists of concomitant medications in the charts of cancer patients. Information collated from a questionnaire, patient interview, and the pa...

OBJECTIVE This study proposed an alternative to brand loyalty as the explanation for the continued price rigidity of patent-expired brand-name prescription drugs despite the increase in market entry of generic drugs facilitated by the 1984 Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act. Study hypotheses were to test (1) whether market entries of new-product extensions are associated wit...

This article examines the conceptually desirable attributes of a fully quality-adjusted prescription drug price index. It provides an understanding of how the Consumer Price Index for prescription drugs and medical supplies treats quality changes in prescription drugs and, in particular, quality changes associated with the introduction of new drugs.