title: Do free or low-cost antibiotic promotions alter prescription filling habits?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Because free sample of prescription medications have been shown to influence prescribing habits of physicians, we sought to discern if promotional efforts of a retail pharmacy influenced prescriptions filled in our county after a free antibiotic program was initiated.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective analysis of prescription antibiotics filled throughout the county was performed. Prescriptions filled during the first 6 months of the year before the program was initiated were compared to prescriptions filled during the first 6 months of the year immediately following initiation of the promotion.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 436,372 antibiotic prescriptions were dispensed during that time. The number of antibiotics filled that were included in the promotion increased by 13.4% while the number of antibiotics filled that were excluded from the promotion decreased by 20.4%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These data suggest that the promotional pricing of the antibiotics had a significant impact on the number of prescriptions filled in each category. Because a prescription written does not always equate to a prescription filled, further investigation is needed to confirm the relationship between these promotions and actual prescriber habits.
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Upstate Medical University . Syracuse, NY ( United States ). joslinj@upstate.edu.
authors.forename: Jeremy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Joslin
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Upstate Medical University . Syracuse, NY ( United States ). wojciks@upstate.edu.
authors.forename: Susan M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Wojcik
authors.affiliation: College of Medicine, Upstate Medical University . Syracuse, NY ( United States ). fishera@upstate.edu.
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fisher
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Associate Dean Graduate Medical Education, Upstate Medical University . Syracuse, NY ( United States ). grantw@upstate.edu.
authors.forename: William D
authors.initials: WD
authors.lastname: Grant
keywords: Anti-Bacterial Agents; Drug Utilization; Pharmacies; Physician’s Practice Patterns; Professional Practice; United States