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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

How to Best Enable Pharma Innovation Beyond the COVID-19 Crisis

May 26, 2020

Innovating in response to public health challenges like COVID-19 does not always align well with pharmaceutical industry commercial models or shareholder expectations. More sustainable and scalable ways of incentivizing innovation in response to infectious disease threats are needed.
Commentary

The Promise and Peril of Offshoring Prescription Drug Pricing

Sep 16, 2019

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.

Explore Pharmaceutical Drugs

Commentary

Why States' 'Netflix Model' Prescription Drug Arrangements Are No Silver Bullet

Despite the buzz and catchy notion that subscription models are “Netflix for drugs,” it's hard to come up with a theoretical case that supports subscription models over traditional price negotiation between payers and manufacturers over a per-dose or per-unit price.

Jul 1, 2020
Journal Article

Journal Article

How Increasing Medical Access to Opioids Contributes to the Opioid Epidemic: Evidence from Medicare Part D

The national growth in opioid supply explains 75% of the national rise in opioid treatment admissions and the diversion component is a critical driver of the opioid epidemic.

Jun 26, 2020
Journal Article

Journal Article

Variation in the Degree of Concentration of Prescription Opioid Utilization Using Different Measures

A small share of prescription opioid users account for a large percent of total prescription opioid use.

Jun 26, 2020
Report

Report

Subscription Models for Prescription Drugs: The Motivation, Potential, and Limitations of a New Payment Model

The authors argue that, conceptually, the main advantage of subscription models over traditional prescription drug payment arrangements is that they could reduce some sources of uncertainty in spending for payers and in revenue for manufacturers.

May 21, 2020
Journal Article

Journal Article

Settling the Score: Maximizing the Public Health Impact of Opioid Litigation

This Article responds to skeptics of a potential global opioid settlement agreement by proposing terms that would further public health goals.

May 12, 2020
Journal Article

Journal Article

Association of Medicare Part D Benzodiazepine Coverage Expansion With Changes in Fall-Related Injuries and Overdoses Among Medicare Advantage Beneficiaries

This study found an increase in the rate of overdose after Medicare Part D coverage began to include benzodiazepines among adults aged 65 to 69 years and 80 years or older and an increase in the rate of fall-related injury in adults 80 years or older.

May 5, 2020
Blog

A Proposed COVID-19 Cure, Economic Decline, North Korea: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on the unintended consequences of a proposed COVID-19 treatment, another wave of economic destruction, North Korea after Kim Jong Un, and more.

May 1, 2020
Commentary

The Unintended Consequences of a Proposed Cure for COVID-19

The very discussion of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine as therapeutic options against COVID-19 has decreased their availability for proven treatments, exacerbated global shortages, fueled a rampant counterfeit drug market in Africa, and worsened trade tensions. What can be done to deal with these unintended consequences?

Apr 29, 2020
Journal Article

Journal Article

Abuses of FDA Regulatory Procedures: The Case of Suboxone

In the profitable buprenorphine market, pharmaceutical manufacturer Reckitt Benckiser exploited various Food and Drug Administration regulatory procedures to impede entry of generic competitors and maintain elevated prices.

Apr 29, 2020
Journal Article

Journal Article

Four States With Robust Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs Reduced Opioid Dosages

State-level prescription drug monitoring programs that incorporate robust design features can significantly reduce the proportion of commercially insured adults who receive opioid prescriptions as well as the strength of those prescriptions.

Apr 29, 2020
Journal Article

Journal Article

Association of State Opioid Duration Limits With Postoperative Opioid Prescribing

Early evidence suggests that opioid duration limits had a variable association with postoperative opioid prescribing and should only be part of a larger, multifaceted effort to reduce excessive postoperative opioid prescribing.

Apr 29, 2020
Journal Article

Journal Article

Generic Drug Policy and Suboxone to Treat Opioid Use Disorder

In this article, the authors use the case of Suboxone to demonstrate egregious anti-competitive practices that delay generic entry, estimate the costs of these delays to the public, and suggest legislative and regulatory reforms to prevent these practices going forward.

Apr 28, 2020
Commentary

The Justice System and the COVID-19 Pandemic: Resources for Policymakers

From closed courts to increased risk for first responders, the COVID-19 pandemic has introduced new challenges for the justice system. RAND research provides insights that may be helpful as decisionmakers try and address some of these issues.

Apr 20, 2020
Journal Article

Association Between Opioid Prescribing in Medicare and Pharmaceutical Company Gifts by Physician Specialty

The value of opioid-related gifts given to physicians varies substantially by provider specialty, as does the relationship between payment amounts and prescriber behavior in the following year.

Mar 13, 2020
Journal Article

Journal Article

Initial Opioid Prescriptions Among U.S. Commercially Insured Patients, 2012–2017

Our study provides a snapshot of trends in the rate at which opioid therapy was initiated among commercially insured patients during a period of heightened attention to the dangers of opioids and the prominent release of prescribing guidelines by the CDC.

Mar 5, 2020
Journal Article

Heterogeneity in Prescription Opioid Pain Reliever Misuse Across Age Groups: 2015–2017 National Survey on Drug Use and Health

Results demonstrating heterogeneity in prescription opioid misuse characteristics across age groups highlight the need for a diverse range of clinical and policy responses.

Mar 5, 2020
Journal Article

Legal Requirements and Recommendations to Prescribe Naloxone

We conducted a systematic legal review of state laws that mandate or recommend that healthcare providers prescribe naloxone to patients with indicators for opioid overdose risk.

Feb 21, 2020
Report

Report

RAND Medicare Advantage (MA) and Part D Contract Star Ratings Technical Expert Panel November 7th, 2019 Meeting

On November 7, 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.

Feb 7, 2020
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

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RAND Topic:
Pharmaceutical Drugs

Topic Synonyms:
Medicinal Drugs

Research conducted by

RAND Health Care