Between 2010 and 2013, the United States spent nearly $73 billion on brand name medications as opposed to less costly alternatives, according to a Columbus-based Ohio State University study, according to Fox News.
Here are five points:
1. Researchers found patients accounted for a significant chunk of that excessive spending.
2. To reduce spending, researchers advise physicians prescribe generic drugs rather than brand name medications and patients seek out generic drugs.
3. If patients used therapeutic substitutions, they could also reduce spending. Therapeutic substitution entails a patient still taking a statin drug, but the drug may not be the same one a provider previously prescribed.
4. A JAMA Internal Medicine study found 62 percent of study participants reported using prescription drugs, and nearly 33 percent used a medication eligible for therapeutic substitution.
5. Therapeutic substitutions could have saved the United States nearly $25 billion during that study period.
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