Pharmaceutical Innovation is Paying Off
for Consumers
Study Shows Use of Newer Rx Drugs Linked to
Economic Gain, Improved Quality of Life
WASHINGTON, DC (September 6, 2001) — According to research
published today in Health Affairs, pharmaceutical innovation
is paying off for American consumers by improving the quality of
their lives, and for payers by lowering total health care expenditures.
A study by Columbia University economist Frank R. Lichtenberg, Ph.
D., concludes savings in other medical spending significantly offsets
spending on newer prescription drugs among American consumers. This
is the first study to examine the value of newer drugs in the aggregate.
The conclusions are based on analysis of the 1996 Medical Expenditure
Panel Survey, the most current nationally representative database
on the use of health care services and spending.
In his study, Are
the Benefits of Newer Drugs Worth Their Cost? Evidence From the
1996 MEPS, Lichtenberg found that people who used newer
prescription drugs were less likely to die or to lose time at work,
and they spent fewer days in the hospital.
As a result, consumers of newer prescription drugs tended to spend
significantly less on other health care services, thereby reducing
overall expenditures. According to Lichtenberg, the cost of newer
drugs was offset by an estimated four-fold reduction in non-drug
spending.
According to the National Pharmaceutical Council, which funded the
study, Lichtenberg's work is part of a growing body of research
that examines the value of pharmaceuticals and other medical innovations.
Several new studies appear in the September/October issue of Health
Affairs.
"The art of good medical care involves treating the whole patient.
Likewise, we must take a broader look at health care spending to
understand both the direct and indirect effects of how we spend
our health care dollars in order to determine where we are experiencing
the greatest benefits," said Karen Williams, president of the
NPC. "This new data by Dr. Lichtenberg shows the importance
of understanding the overall value of pharmaceuticals, not only
to individual patients, but to society as a whole," she said.
Since 1953, NPC has sponsored and conducted scientific, evidence-based
analyses of the appropriate use of pharmaceuticals and the clinical
and economic value of pharmaceutical innovation. NPC provides educational
resources to a variety of health care stakeholders, including patients,
clinicians, payers and policy makers. More than 20 research-based
pharmaceutical companies are members of the NPC.
###
Please direct all media inquiries to Pat Adams, phone
(703) 620-6390.
|
