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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.

Report

Biosimilar Drugs May Reduce U.S. Health Spending by $54 Billion

Oct 23, 2017

Biologics are complex drugs used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, cancer, and other diseases. They accounted for 70 percent of the growth in U.S. prescription drug spending between 2010 and 2015. Biosimilar versions of biologics could cut health care costs by $54 billion over the next decade.
Journal Article

Risky Prescribing of Opioids Linked to More Fatal Overdoses and Other Deaths

Jun 18, 2018

When patients are prescribed opioids in risky ways, their chance of dying increases, and their odds of death go higher as the number of risky opioid prescriptions increases.

Explore Pharmaceutical Drugs

Testimony

Testimony

Addressing the U.S. Opioid Crisis: Using an Integrated Systems-Based Approach: Addendum

Document submitted January 21, 2020, as an addendum to testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on Opioids on December 17, 2019.

Jan 20, 2020
Journal Article

Growth and Distribution of Buprenorphine-Waivered Providers in the United States, 2007–2017

This study sheds light on the distribution of buprenorphine-waivered prescribers over the past decade. Growth has been rapid in communities affected by the opioid crisis, but slower in rural communities, and those with lower levels of education.

Jan 8, 2020
Multimedia

Addressing the U.S. Opioid Crisis: Using an Integrated Systems-Based Approach

An overview of testimony by Bradley D. Stein presented before the Senate Judiciary Committee on December 17, 2019.

Dec 17, 2019
Testimony

Approaching the U.S. Opioid Crisis as an Ecosystem

Policymakers should think of the opioid crisis as an ecosystem and consider how its many parts interact—especially in unexpected ways. A broader view of the crisis will help those confronting it better prepare for the challenges ahead.

Dec 17, 2019
Tool

Medications for Alcohol Use Disorder in Mental Health Settings

This tool reviews how clinicians who work in mental health settings can provide pharmacotherapy treatment for an alcohol use disorder that co-occurs with a primary mental health condition.

Dec 13, 2019
Journal Article

Journal Article

An Observational Study of Retail Pharmacy Naloxone Prescriptions: Differences Across Provider Specialties and Patient Populations

This article explores variation in pharmacy-dispensed naloxone by prescriber specialty and patient characteristics.

Dec 6, 2019
Report

Report

Reuse of health data by the European pharmaceutical industry: Current practice and implications for the future

Health data is re-used for a variety of reasons by pharmaceutical companies across the R&D pathway. RAND Europe suggests seven ways which might help create a sustainable ecosystem in which health data is reused effectively.

Nov 12, 2019
Commentary

The Promise and Peril of Offshoring Prescription Drug Pricing

Most Americans, including Congress and the president, agree that prescription drug prices are too high. Policy proposals from both major parties could promise some relief. Several of them look to drug prices in other countries to help set prices in the United States.

Sep 16, 2019
Report

Report

RAND Medicare Advantage (MA) and Part D Contract Star Ratings Technical Expert Panel April 30, 2019 Meeting

On April 30, 2019, the RAND Corporation convened a Technical Expert Panel (TEP) web meeting to gather input on analyses that could be conducted to further enhance the Medicare Advantage (MA) and Part D Contract Star Ratings program.

Sep 6, 2019
Blog

Youth Sports, Autonomous Vehicles, Mental Health: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on why low-income children aren't playing sports, who's liable when autonomous vehicles get hacked, supporting children with mental health issues, and more.

Jul 19, 2019
Commentary

Price-Fixing Case Reveals Vulnerability of Generic Drug Policies

A massive lawsuit filed by 44 states accuses 20 major drug makers of colluding to inflate prices on more than 100 generic drugs, including HIV, cancer, and depression treatments. If these allegations are true, then this isn't just a violation of antitrust law. It's a betrayal of the policies that created and defended the entire generic drug industry.

Jul 15, 2019
Blog

Why Are Drug Prices So High in the United States?

Ezekiel J. Emanuel is vice provost for global initiatives at the University of Pennsylvania and chair of the Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy. In 2018, he delivered the Albert P. Williams Lecture on Health Policy at RAND, where he offered a framework for thinking about drug pricing.

May 3, 2019
Journal Article

Reducing High-Dose Opioid Prescribing: State-Level Morphine Equivalent Daily Dose Policies, 2007-2017

Morphine equivalent daily dose thresholds are a promising policy tool, but there is a lack of consensus about how to use the thresholds and what the threshold level should be.

Mar 22, 2019
Journal Article

Journal Article

Responsible E-Prescribing Needs E-Discontinuation

Adding e-discontinuation functionality has the potential to help reduce medication errors and take fuller advantage of e-prescribing technology. Prescribers need to be able to e-discontinue prescriptions, just as easily as they can e-prescribe them.

Mar 12, 2019
Journal Article

Journal Article

Physician Prescribing of Opioids to Patients at Increased Risk of Overdose From Benzodiazepine Use in the United States

New opioid prescriptions decreased among higher-risk patients who used benzodiazepines from 2010 to 2015, suggesting that the rapid increase in opioid-related deaths is primarily associated with factors other than physicians writing new opioid prescriptions.

Mar 1, 2019
Journal Article

Journal Article

Unveiling an 'Invisible Population': Health, Substance Use, Sexual Behavior, Culture, and Discrimination Among Urban American Indian/Alaska Native Adolescents in California

American Indian/Alaska Native adolescents in this study used alcohol or other drugs at rates similar to those found in national surveys and rates of risky sexual behavior were also comparable to national data.

Feb 28, 2019
Commentary

Opioids and a Crisis of Unintended Consequences

The pain medicine OxyContin was reformulated in 2010 to make it more difficult to crush or dissolve. But this had unintended consequences, including a rise in hepatitis C infections as drug abusers switched from taking OxyContin to injecting heroin.

Feb 20, 2019
Journal Article

Journal Article

Effect of Age on Opioid Prescribing, Overdose, and Mortality in Massachusetts, 2011 to 2015

Older age was the strongest predictor of undergoing potentially inappropriate prescribing (PIP) among individuals who were prescribed opioids. PIP was also associated with risk of adverse outcomes in both older and younger adults.

Jan 29, 2019
Report

RAND Medicare Advantage (MA) and Part D Contract Star Ratings Technical Expert Panel October 30th 2018 Meeting

On October 30, 2018, the RAND Corporation convened a Technical Expert Panel (TEP) web meeting to gather input on analyses that could be conducted to further enhance the Medicare Advantage (MA) and Part D Contract Star Ratings program.

Jan 18, 2019
Journal Article

Journal Article

Elusive Search for Effective Provider Interventions: A Systematic Review of Provider Interventions to Increase Adherence to Evidence-Based Treatment for Depression

Low quality of evidence and lack of replication of specific intervention strategies across studies limit conclusions that can be drawn from the existing research about the effectiveness of interventions to improve adherence to antidepressant medications.

Dec 20, 2018

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RAND Topic:
Pharmaceutical Drugs

Topic Synonyms:
Medicinal Drugs

Research conducted by

RAND Health Care