Prescription Drug Market Performance, 2002 - 2003

The Brogan Inc. Private Drug Plan Providers Database captures prescription level data from 15 to 20 largest drug benefit administrators in Canada. Last year, cumulative prescription drug expenditures increase 21.2% over 2002. This increase is mainly attributed to a 12.2% increase in the number of people using drug plan benefits.



Other cost increase pressures (Table 2):
•  Increase in the average cost per claimant
•  Increase in the average cost per prescription
•  Increase in the average number of prescriptions per claimant

These items are not mutually exclusive.



The chart segments the increase in the drug plan providers cost among the various cost elements that contribute to total prescription cost increase.

These cost elements include:
•  Number of claimants
•  Cost per prescription
•  Prescriptions per claimant
•  Combined effect