| Description |
The average prescription fee (APF) and the average wholesale cost (AWC) in Utah for the 18 leading therapeutic groups of drugs and for all prescriptions included in these classes were compared for the period of 1953-1961. The APF for all of the leading therapeutic classes increased over the period of the survey except for the hormones and corticoids. The AWC increased at a great rate than the APF for all groups except the antihistaminics, hormones, vitamins, and nutrients, sedatives and hypnotics, and the psychopharmacologic agents, The increase in AWC for the several therapeutics groups was shown to be due primarily to the addition of newer more expensive products to the survey and the deletion of less expensive preparations. The closeness of the relation between the APF and the AWC was determined by means of a correlation study. A correlation coefficient of 0.60 or greater was obtained for 10 of the 18 leading therapeutic groups. The APF for all prescriptions included in the Utah Survey increased from $2.13 in 1953 to $3.19 in 1961. The average yearly increment in APF was 5.3 per cent. The AWC for all prescriptions increased from $4.42 in 1953 to $8.93 in 1961. The average yearly increment in AWC was 9.2 per cent, or about 4 per cent greater than that observed in APF. The increase in the AWC was shown to be due to the addition of newer and more expensive preparations to the survey and the deletion of less expensive agents. A correlation coefficient of 0.98 for all prescriptions included in the Utah Survey revealed a close relation between the APF and the AWC. In addition, the coefficient of determination was 0.95 which indicated that 95 per cent of the variation in the APF was explained by the AWC. These results indicate that the primary factor responsible for the increase in APF during the period of this study was increase AWC. |
