US spending on prescription drugs rose by 19% in 2000

Americans spent $132bn (£94bn) on prescription drugs last year, an increase of $20.8bn (18.8%) over 1999. Spending on prescription drugs in the United Kingdom in 2000 was £7bn.

A study by the National Institute for Health Care Management Foundation, a non-profit making, independent group that conducts research on healthcare issues, found that the increase in spending “was attributable in large measure to the rising volume of prescriptions for the top-selling drugs.” Researchers at the institute have …