The effect of Medicaid on the quantity of drugs dispensed per prescription.

ABSTRACT

Several studies have been conducted in order to determine the effect of the Medicaid program on drug utilization. This paper describes a research project that attempted to determine whether the Medicaid program has any effect on the quantity of drugs dispensed per prescription. A sample of privately paid prescriptions was compared to all Medicaid prescriptions in Iowa during the fiscal year 1972-73. A randomized block design for analysis of variance was used. The results showed that, overall, the quantity prescribed per patient was greater in the Medicaid population than for the privately paying sample. However, when broken down by therapeutic category, 4 of the 15 drug classes examined displayed higher quantities in the privately paying sample. These four categories were classified as maintenance drugs.