National Medical Expenditure Survey: Prescribed Medicines in Ambulatory CareSettings. A Comparison of Use, Expenditures, and Sources of Payment, 1977 and 1987

摘要

The report from the 1987 National Medical Expenditure Survey (NMES-2) summarizesuse of and expenditures for prescribed medicines obtained in ambulatory care settings by the civilian noninstitutionalized population of the United States in 1987. Data presented include the probability of purchasing or otherwise obtaining a prescription, mean charges per prescription, the mean number of prescriptions per capita and per user, and mean total expenditures and sources of payment. Mean out-of-pocket expenditures and their distribution are examined as well. Prescription use and expenditures are examined by population age, insurance coverage, sex race/ethnicity, family income as related to poverty status, employment status, perceived health status, and census region. Survey results are compared to estimates from the 1977 National Medical Care Expenditure Survey (NMES-1) to determine if the relationship between these measures and various socioeconomic and demographic characteristics of the population have remained stable over the decade.