Economics of suboptimal drug use: cost-savings of using JNC-recommended medications for management of uncomplicated essential hypertension.
OBJECTIVE
To quantify potential cost-savings associated with better compliance with the guidelines of the Joint National Committee on Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure UNC V) and to determine whether suboptimal utilization of medications is associated with higher costs for other health services.


METHODS
Secondary data analysis using the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) conducted by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the National Center for Health Statistics. A complex sampling design was used to provide nationally representative estimates.


METHODS
From interviews with a population-based and nationally representative sample of 22 601 individuals, 1588 patients with essential hypertension without other comorbid cardiovascular conditions were selected, representing 19.6 million patients in the United States in 1996. All medical treatments for essential hypertension in 1996 were extracted from the MEPS. Using the JNC V guidelines, prescriptions used in treating essential hypertension were categorized into first-line drugs (diuretics and beta-blockers), second-line drugs (calcium-channel blockers and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors), and third-line (nonrecommended) drugs. Nonprescription expenditures were calculated. Multivariate analyses were performed to determine whether use of the first-line drugs was associated with cost-savings.


RESULTS
Compliance rate with the JNC guidelines was low. About 36%, 67%, and 87% of patients in the nation received first-, second-, and third-line drugs, respectively, at some point during 1996. Prescription expenditure constituted more than 67% of the total expenditures for treating essential hypertension. The use of first-line drugs (vs second-line drugs) was associated with expenditures that were dollar 2.6 billion to dollar 3.2 billion lower.


CONCLUSIONS
Compliance with the JNC guidelines for treating essential hypertension may reduce the costs of prescriptions and other medical services. Raising awareness of the JNC guidelines is crucial to achieve cost effectiveness in choosing treatment alternatives.
Xu
K Tom
KT
Department of Health Services Research and Management, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, School of Medicine, Lubbock, Tex 79430, USA. ke.xu@ttuhsc.edu
Moloney
Michael
M
Phillips
Sidney
S
D000959:Antihypertensive Agents / Q000145:classification / Q000191:economics* / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D017046:Cost Savings; D016527:Drug Costs; D017723:Drug Utilization Review; D005260:Female; D019983:Guideline Adherence; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010349:Patient Compliance; D014481:United States; D016270:United States Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
D000959:Antihypertensive Agents