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The federal agency found that 4.2 million Americans age 18 and older used a blood thinner in 2007. The average expenditure and average out-of-pocket payment for a brand name blood thinner was $65 and $29, respectively, and generics were $18 and $7, respectively.
AHRQ also found that:
About 10 percent of Americans 75 and older, and 6 percent of Americans between the ages of 65 and 74 used one or more blood thinners in 2007. In contrast, less than 1 percent of people younger than 65 used a blood thinner.
About 74 percent of adults on blood thinners had a heart-related condition; 40 percent had undergone surgery that year; and about 30 percent had cancer or diabetes.
Of the nearly 28 million prescriptions filled by pharmacists, 19.3 million were for generic blood thinners and 8.5 million were for brand-name drugs.
AHRQ, which is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, improves the quality, safety, efficiency, and effectiveness of health care for all Americans. The data in this AHRQ News and Numbers summary are taken from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), a detailed source of information on the health services used by Americans, the frequency with which they are used, the cost of those services, and how they are paid. For more information, go to Outpatient Prescription Anticoagulants Utilization and Expenditures for the U.S. Civilian Noninstitutionalized Population Age 18 and Older, 2007
AHRQ has produced a new DVD for clinicians and patients on how to use anti-coagulant drugs safely and effectively, Staying Healthy and Active with Taking Blood Thinners. To view the video, go to: http://healthcare411.ahrq.gov/videocast.aspx?id=555. To order the DVD, which may be played in English or Spanish, e-mail [email protected] or call 1-800-358-9295. Bulk supplies of the DVD and accompanying bilingual pamphlet are available free of charge up to certain limits.
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