AHRQ: U.S. Expenditures on Prescriptions for GI Ailments More Than Doubled From 1997-2007

The report, Trends in Outpatient Prescription Gastrointestinal Agents Purchases and Expenditures for the U.S. Civilian Noninstitutionalized Population, 1997 and 2007, also found total expenditures for GI agents rising from $7.0 billion in 1997 to $18.9 billion in 2007. The average drug expenditure per person also rose from $386 in 1997 to $653 in 2007, and the average expenditure per drug purchase also rose from $90 in 1997 to $120 in 2007.

The amount of patients purchasing GI agents also increased across age groups:

• 17 and younger — Increase to 2.5 percent (2007) from 1.5 percent (1997)
• 18-64 — Increase to 8.9 percent (2007) from 6.4 percent (1997)
• 65 and older — Increase to 26.6 percent (2007) from 18.6 percent (1997)

The report also found increases in expenditures across racial and poverty status lines.

Read Trends in Outpatient Prescription Gastrointestinal Agents Purchases and Expenditures for the U.S. Civilian Noninstitutionalized Population, 1997 and 2007 (pdf).

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