title: The retail cost of antihypertensive therapy. Physician and patient as educated consumers.
abstract: The retail cost for antihypertensive medication in the Cincinnati area was examined using a questionnaire sent to 20 local pharmacies asking them to provide the cost to the patient for a 30-day supply of medication. Six pharmacies responded, providing a detailed list of drug prices. The price for a given drug varies considerably from pharmacy to pharmacy, with generics having the greatest variability. There are also large differences between agents within a drug class, leading to overlap between classes. Some diuretics and beta-blockers are more expensive than angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors or calcium-channel blockers. For some agents a dose increase costs nothing, whereas for others it dramatically increases the cost. The price structure for antihypertensive agents is complex. Without detailed and current information, a physician will find it difficult to estimate the cost of a given prescription.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of Cincinnati, Ohio 45267-0565.
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Reif
authors.forename: V L
authors.initials: VL
authors.lastname: Carter
mesh_terms: D000959:Antihypertensive Agents / Q000145:classification / Q000191:economics*; D016527:Drug Costs; D016568:Drugs, Generic; D006266:Health Education; D006801:Humans; D010361:Patients; D010594:Pharmacies; D010820:Physicians; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013557:Switzerland; D014481:United States
chemical_list: D000959:Antihypertensive Agents; D016568:Drugs, Generic