Huge medicine misuse cost
June 20, 2013
A NEW report released overnight
by IMS Health has estimated that
avoidable costs of over $200b are
incurred each year in the US health
system as a result of medicines not
being used responsibly.
The figure represents 8% of the
country’s total healthcare spending,
and comprises millions of avoidable
hospital admissions, outpatient
treatments, pharmaceutical scripts
and emergency room visits.
The report looks at six areas:
medication nonadherence, misuse
of antibiotics, medication errors,
suboptimal use of generics, delayed
evidence-based practice and
“mismanaged polypharmacy in
older adults.”
IMS Institute for Healthcare
Informatics executive director,
Murray Aitken, said that progress
had been made in some areas but
there’s huge potential for savings.
The full report can be
downloaded by CLICKING HERE.
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