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Pharmaceutical Drugs

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Although pharmaceutical drugs on the whole greatly improve patient outcomes and quality of life when used as prescribed, they are not without their complications. RAND research on pharmaceuticals examines their safety and effectiveness, relevant health economics issues, prescription drug abuse, challenges related to access and adherence, and pharmaceutical regulatory policy.

News Release
Opioid Prescribing Declines, but Cuts Are Not Uniform Across Locations, Age Groups, or Type of Prescriber
The volume of prescription opioids dispensed from retail pharmacies declined by 21 percent from 2008 to 2018, but the decline was not uniform across geographic areas, among types of patients, or by type of prescriber.
Dec 27, 2021
Project
Comparing International Prescription Drug Prices
Prescription drug prices in the United States average 2.56 times those in 32 other nations. In a new animation, information designer Gabrielle Mérite illustrates this subject that may seem distant from American consumers but has a concrete impact on their health and finances.
Dec 14, 2021

Explore Pharmaceutical Drugs

Journal Article
Consensus-Based Guidance on Opioid Management in Individuals With Advanced Cancer-Related Pain and Opioid Misuse or Use Disorder
This qualitative study provides consensus-based guidance for clinicians and highlights research and policy gaps that warrant urgent attention to meet the needs of people with cancer-related pain and opioid misuse/use disorder.
Sep 21, 2022
Journal Article
Development of a Metric to Detect and Decrease Low-Value Prescribing in Older Adults
In this qualitative study of 27 low-value prescribing practices, a panel of experts was convened using an online modified-Delphi approach to develop a scientifically valid and clinically useful low-value prescribing metric.
Sep 21, 2022
Journal Article
New Prescription Fills of Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Los Angeles County, California
The COVID-19 pandemic was associated with an initial decrease, followed by a consistent increase in new SSRI fills in L.A. County. These increases in new SSRI fills were primarily among women, 18–39 year-olds, and those under 18.
Sep 9, 2022
Commentary
Improving How Medicines R&D Is Financed Could Support Innovation and Benefits for Patients
Tackling chronic and infectious diseases depends to a large extent on the ability to develop innovative and affordable medicines that are available to patients in need. Policymakers will need to tackle challenges from multiple angles to avoid reducing barriers in one area at the expense of exacerbating challenges in another.
Aug 25, 2022
Journal Article
Estimated Wasteful Spending on Aducanumab Dispensing in the U.S. Medicare Population: A Cross-Sectional Analysis
Aducanumab, a weight-dosed Alzheimer's drug, is available in two fixed-dose vial sizes. This may result in large amounts of discarded drug and wasteful spending. More-efficient vial sizes could save Medicare money if the drug is approved for widespread use.
Aug 11, 2022
Journal Article
The Financial Ecosystem of Pharmaceutical R&D: An Evidence Base to Inform Further Dialogue
This study's overarching conclusion is that a drug's expected financial return ultimately determines whether it is developed up to launch.
Jun 24, 2022
Journal Article
Implementation of South Africa's Central Chronic Medicine Dispensing and Distribution Program for HIV Treatment: A Qualitative Evaluation
Participants had highly favorable attitudes about the Chronic Care and Medicine Dispensing and Distribution (CCMDD) program for HIV treatment. Patient-level barriers to care included inadequate education about CCMDD and inability to get refills. Organizational-level barriers included challenges with communication and transportation, errors in medication packaging and tracking, rigid rules, and inadequate infrastructure.
Jun 23, 2022
Report
RAND Technical Expert Panel Medicare Advantage (MA) and Part D Contract Star Ratings, February 7, 2022 Meeting
On February 7, 2022, the RAND Corporation convened a Technical Expert Panel web meeting to gather input about the potential development of a measure to capture value-based care arrangements Medicare Advantage organizations have with their contracted providers.
Jun 17, 2022
Journal Article
Opioid Use Disorder Among Clients of Community Mental Health Clinics: Prevalence, Characteristics, and Treatment Willingness
The authors examined the prevalence of co-occurring opioid use disorder and willingness to engage in treatment among clients of eight Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health outpatient clinics.
Jun 1, 2022
Journal Article
Estimating the Cost of Industry Investment in Drug Research and Development: A Review of Methods and Results
We review and synthesize papers estimating drug R&D costs incurred by industry. We find a substantial range of per-drug costs, from $113 million–$6 billion. We discuss the data sources, methods, and assumptions used in each study and suggest areas for future research and data collection.
Apr 22, 2022
Journal Article
Beyond State Scope of Practice Laws for Advanced Practitioners: Additional Supervision Requirements for Buprenorphine Prescribing
This study of state laws governing buprenorphine prescribing found that these vary; nurse practitioner and physician assistant supervision should include state non-scope of practice laws.
Mar 31, 2022
Journal Article
Assessment of Postoperative Opioid Prescriptions Before and After Implementation of a Mandatory Prescription Drug Monitoring Program
In this study of adult patients who received a postoperative prescription for opioid medication, mandatory consultation with EHR-based alerts was associated with decreases in prescription quantities.
Mar 29, 2022
Journal Article
Comparison of Hospital Claims and Poison Center Data to Evaluate Health Impact of Opioids, Cannabis and Synthetic Cannabinoids
This study demonstrates the differences in surveillance methodology for concurrent drug abuse epidemics using hospital claims and PC data. Both systems provide incomplete reports, but in combination can provide a more complete picture.
Mar 4, 2022
Journal Article
APCDs Can Provide Important Insights for Surveilling the Opioid Epidemic, With Caveats
We compared Colorado's all-payer claims databases with other state-level databases, using analyses comparing quarterly rates of opioid-involved inpatient and emergency department visits and rates of 30-day opioid fills.
Mar 4, 2022
Journal Article
Access to High-Cost Medications After a Cap on Monthly Out-of-Pocket Spending in California
This cross-sectional study evaluates the association of a cap on monthly out-of-pocket spending on high-cost drugs with use of these drugs and out-of-pocket spending in California in 2015 and 2016.
Mar 4, 2022
Blog
State of the Union 2022: Russia's Invasion of Ukraine and Domestic Policy
In his first State of the Union address, President Joe Biden rebuked Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, aimed to turn a page on the pandemic, and covered a wide range of domestic issues, including mental health care, prescription drug prices, and supporting veterans.
Mar 2, 2022
Journal Article
Progress Report: AMR Industry Alliance 2021 Survey
An analysis of AMR Industry Alliance contributions to the fight against antimicrobial resistance.
Feb 1, 2022
Journal Article
Projected US Savings From Biosimilars, 2021–2025
Biosimilar drugs could drive down prices for expensive medicines, with savings estimated at $38.4 billion from 2021 to 2022.
Jan 26, 2022
Journal Article
Rapid Discontinuation of Chronic, High-Dose Opioid Treatment for Pain: Prevalence and Associated Factors
This study used claims data from over 500,000 chronic high-dose opioid episodes initiated during 2017 and 2018 to examine prevalence of rapid discontinuation and identify associated patient demographics, clinician, and community factors.
Jan 26, 2022
Journal Article
The Effect of State Policies on Rates of High-Risk Prescribing of an Initial Opioid Analgesic
This study examined how PDMPs, pain clinic laws, and prescribing limit laws have influenced several types of high-risk opioid prescribing, focusing on initial high-risk opioid prescriptions for individuals not routinely taking opioids.
Jan 25, 2022

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RAND Topic:
Pharmaceutical Drugs

Topic Synonyms:
Medicinal Drugs

Research conducted by

RAND Health Care

Researcher Spotlight

Marcela Horvitz-Lennon

Senior Physician Policy Researcher

Marcela Horvitz-Lennon is a senior physician scientist at the RAND Corporation and a core faculty member of the Pardee RAND Graduate School. She is also an associate professor of psychiatry (part-time) at Harvard Medical School, a senior scientist at the Health Equity Research Laboratory,…
Sarah Junghee Kang

Ph.D. Student, Pardee RAND Graduate School, and Assistant Policy Researcher, RAND

Sarah Kang (she/her) is a Ph.D. student in the Research, Analysis, and Design stream at Pardee RAND Graduate School and an assistant policy analyst at RAND. Her research interests encompass public health policy, pharmaceutical payor systems, health services research, health economics, and social…

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