scholarly journals Examining the Pharmacist Labor Supply in the United States: Increasing Medication Use, Aging Society, and Evolution of Pharmacy Practice

Pharmacy ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 137 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan H. Watanabe

The increasing number of pharmacists in the US has generated concern regarding potential oversupply. A 2018 analysis from the National Center for Health Workforce Analysis (NCHWA) in the US projected a best case scenario of an oversupply of more than 18,000 pharmacists in the year 2030. In this commentary, the limitations of this general health labor force analysis by the NCHWA are described. The goal of this work was to provide a more nuanced examination of the pharmacist labor demand in the US. Data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the US Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) were utilized to examine, annually over a ten year period ending in 2017, the number of pharmacists, the ratio of pharmacists to persons living in the US, the ratio of pharmacists to older adults living in the US, and the ratio of medications to pharmacists. The number of pharmacists grew from 266,410 in 2008 to 309,330 in 2017. As anticipated, despite a growing US population, the ratio of people living in the US per pharmacist dropped unabated from 1141 to 1053 from 2008 to 2017, respectively. However, the reverse trend was observed for the ratio of persons 65 years or older per pharmacist. This ratio increased from 146.1 older adults to each pharmacist in 2008 to 164.3 in 2017. The accelerating demographic shift to an older population is also reversing an overall trend in the number of medications to pharmacist that will continue for the foreseeable future. While the ratio of medications to pharmacist dropped overall from 2008 to 2016, it has begun to rise again from 2016 to 2017. Beyond the increasing number of medications attributable to a rapidly aging population, there is a growing demand for clinical care from pharmacists due to the maturing environment of complex, costly medications for chronic disease treatment. As the portion of total health expenditure is increasingly devoted to medications and the US health delivery system continues its movement to community-based care, the demand for pharmacist care will require a larger number of pharmacists trained for advanced-practice care.

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Deanna J. M. Isaman ◽  
Amy E. Rothberg

Background. Despite the attention given to the prevalence of obesity, surprisingly little is known about the incidence or reduction of obesity. We report the 1-year incidence and remission of obesity in a representative sample of the US population. Methods. Individuals from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) panel 17 were classified into standard obesity categories at enrollment and one year later. Incidence rates were calculated by age. Results. Although the overall prevalence of obesity remained nearly constant, remission rates from obesity (stratified by age) ranged from 11 to 27% while incidence rates ranged from 6 to 16%. For almost all age levels, the proportion of individuals leaving an obese or overweight state was greater than or equal to the proportion who progressed to a more severe level of overweight or obesity. Overall, 36% of adults lost at least 2.5 kg/m2 in the one-year period; only 8% gained 2.5 kg/m2 or more. Individuals less than 25 years of age had higher rates of leaving overweight (23% versus <16%) and obesity (27% versus 24%) classifications than people of other ages. Conclusions. Prevalence rates of obesity are well documented in the United States, but incidence is understudied. Public health efforts that target young people with overweight or obesity may yield the greatest benefit.


2004 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 259-272 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wendy Max ◽  
Dorothy P. Rice ◽  
Eric Finkelstein ◽  
Robert A. Bardwell ◽  
Steven Leadbetter

This study provides estimates of the economic cost of intimate partner violence perpetrated against women in the US, including expenditures for medical care and mental health services, and lost productivity from injury and premature death. The analysis uses national survey data, including the National Violence Against Women Survey and the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, to estimate costs for 1995. Intimate partner violence against women cost $5.8 billion dollars (95% confidence interval: $3.9 to $7.7 billion) in 1995, including $320 million ($136 to $503 million) for rapes, $4.2 billion ($2.4 to $6.1 billion) for physical assault, $342 million ($235 to $449 million) for stalking, and $893 million ($840 to $946 million) for murders. Updated to 2003 dollars, costs would total over $8.3 billion. Intimate partner violence is costly in the US. The potential savings from efforts to reduce this violence are substantial. More comprehensive data are needed to refine cost estimates and monitor costs over time.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S710-S710
Author(s):  
Rashmita Bajracharya ◽  
Danya Qato

Abstract Per the 2015 Beer’s Criteria, most psychoactive medications are identified as potentially inappropriate for use in older adults as this population is especially vulnerable to the potential adverse effects associated with psychoactive medications, including sedation, anticholinergic effects, and falls. Past studies found increasing use of psychoactive medications in community-dwelling older adults; however, patterns of use by other sociodemographic, socioeconomic, and clinical subgroups have not been explored. This is a cross-sectional analysis of 2015 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey in a sample of 6122 older adults (60-85 years). We utilized Andersen’s Behavioral Model of Health Services Utilization to guide logistic regression model development and estimated odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) to quantify the association between psychoactive use and predisposing(sex and race); enabling(marital status, education, poverty, insurance); and need-based[multi-morbidity and activities of daily living (ADL) limitations] factors. Over 30% of older adults in the U.S. reported taking a psychoactive medication in 2015. Prevalence of use was significantly higher in women (35.9%), the unmarried(34.1%), low-income(35.7%), white(34.0%), multimorbid (32.0%), and ADL limitation groups (45.9%) compared to men, married, high-income, other races, not multimorbid, and no ADL limitations groups, respectively. Female sex [OR=1.62(1.38-1.91)], low-income [OR=1.30(1.04-1.6)], multimorbidity [OR=3.2(2.6-3.9)], and ADL limitations [OR=2.2(1.7-2.8)] were identified as independent predictors of psychoactive use. There is differential use of psychoactive medications by sociodemographic, socioeconomic, and clinical factors. Given the increased complexity of pharmacotherapy regimens, especially in those with multimorbidity and ADL limitations, improved efforts aimed at prudent use of psychoactive medications should be intensified.


2020 ◽  
pp. 089826432095929
Author(s):  
Rashmita Bajracharya ◽  
Danya M. Qato

Objectives: We aim to quantify any use and long-term use patterns of psychoactive medications and explore differences in use by sociodemographic factors in older adults (60–85 years) using the 2016 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. Methods: Prevalence estimates of any use and long-term use were calculated. Chi-square and crude odds ratios were calculated to estimate differences in any use and long-term use of psychoactive medication by sociodemographic characteristics of respondents. Results: Thirty percent of older adults in the US reported any use of psychoactive medications. Long-term use was significantly higher in women (28.3% [95% confidence interval: 26.5, 30.2]), white (27.8 [26.1, 29.7]), presently unmarried (27.5 [25.4, 29.7]), and low-income (30.3 [27.7, 32.9]) subgroups than in men (20.5 [18.4, 22.5]), Black (14.7 [12.3, 17.1]), presently married (22.8 [20.7, 24.9]), and high-income (21.1 [19.1, 23.1]) subgroups, respectively. Discussion: Despite continued risks associated with use, long-term use of psychoactive medications is prevalent in the older adult population in the US. Given the increased complexity of pharmacotherapy regimens in this population, enhanced efforts at improving use of psychoactive medications should be intensified.


2011 ◽  
Vol 101 (7) ◽  
pp. 3047-3077 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanming Fang ◽  
Alessandro Gavazza

We investigate the effects of the institutional settings of the US health care system on individuals' life-cycle medical expenditures. Health is a form of general human capital; labor turnover and labor-market frictions prevent an employer-employee pair from capturing the entire surplus from investment in an employee's health. Thus, the pair underinvests in health during working years, thereby increasing medical expenditures during retirement. We provide empirical evidence consistent with the comparative statics predictions of our model using the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) and the Health and Retirement Study (HRS). Our estimates suggest significant inefficiencies in health investment in the United States. (JEL D14, D91, G22, I11, J32)


Geriatrics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 44
Author(s):  
Shelley A. Sternberg ◽  
Shiri Shinan-Altman ◽  
Ladislav Volicer ◽  
David J. Casarett ◽  
Jenny T. van der Steen

Palliative care including hospice care is appropriate for advanced dementia, but policy initiatives and implementation have lagged, while treatment may vary. We compare care for people with advanced dementia in the United States (US), the Netherlands, and Israel. We conducted a narrative literature review and expert physician consultation around a case scenario focusing on three domains in the care of people with advanced dementia: (1) place of residence, (2) access to palliative care, and (3) treatment. We found that most people with advanced dementia live in nursing homes in the US and the Netherlands, and in the community in Israel. Access to specialist palliative and hospice care is improving in the US but is limited in the Netherlands and Israel. The two data sources consistently showed that treatment varies considerably between countries with, for example, artificial nutrition and hydration differing by state in the US, strongly discouraged in the Netherlands, and widely used in Israel. We conclude that care in each country has positive elements: hospice availability in the US, the general palliative approach in the Netherlands, and home care in Israel. National Dementia Plans should include policy regarding palliative care, and public and professional awareness must be increased.


2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
De-Chih Lee ◽  
Hailun Liang ◽  
Leiyu Shi

Abstract Objective This study applied the vulnerability framework and examined the combined effect of race and income on health insurance coverage in the US. Data source The household component of the US Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS-HC) of 2017 was used for the study. Study design Logistic regression models were used to estimate the associations between insurance coverage status and vulnerability measure, comparing insured with uninsured or insured for part of the year, insured for part of the year only, and uninsured only, respectively. Data collection/extraction methods We constructed a vulnerability measure that reflects the convergence of predisposing (race/ethnicity), enabling (income), and need (self-perceived health status) attributes of risk. Principal findings While income was a significant predictor of health insurance coverage (a difference of 6.1–7.2% between high- and low-income Americans), race/ethnicity was independently associated with lack of insurance. The combined effect of income and race on insurance coverage was devastating as low-income minorities with bad health had 68% less odds of being insured than high-income Whites with good health. Conclusion Results of the study could assist policymakers in targeting limited resources on subpopulations likely most in need of assistance for insurance coverage. Policymakers should target insurance coverage for the most vulnerable subpopulation, i.e., those who have low income and poor health as well as are racial/ethnic minorities.


2010 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
John F Cogan ◽  
R. Glenn Hubbard ◽  
Daniel Kessler

In this paper, we use publicly available data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey - Insurance Component (MEPS-IC) to investigate the effect of Massachusetts' health reform plan on employer-sponsored insurance premiums. We tabulate premium growth for private-sector employers in Massachusetts and the United States as a whole for 2004 - 2008. We estimate the effect of the plan as the difference in premium growth between Massachusetts and the United States between 2006 and 2008—that is, before versus after the plan—over and above the difference in premium growth for 2004 to 2006. We find that health reform in Massachusetts increased single-coverage employer-sponsored insurance premiums by about 6 percent, or $262. Although our research design has important limitations, it does suggest that policy makers should be concerned about the consequences of health reform for the cost of private insurance.


2013 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 82-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geraldine Pierre ◽  
Roland J. Thorpe ◽  
Gniesha Y. Dinwiddie ◽  
Darrell J. Gaskin

This article sought to determine whether racial disparities exist in psychotropic drug use and expenditures in a nationally representative sample of men in the United States. Data were extracted from the 2000-2009 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, a longitudinal survey that covers the U.S. civilian noninstitutionalized population. Full-Year Consolidated, Medical Conditions, and Prescribed Medicines data files were merged across 10 years of data. The sample of interest was limited to adult males aged 18 to 64 years, who reported their race as White, Black, Hispanic, or Asian. This study employed a pooled cross-sectional design and a two-part probit generalized linear model for analyses. Minority men reported a lower probability of psychotropic drug use (Black = −4.3%, 95% confidence interval [CI] = [−5.5, −3.0]; Hispanic = −3.8%, 95% CI = [−5.1, −2.6]; Asian = −4.5%, 95% CI = [−6.2, −2.7]) compared with White men. After controlling for demographic, socioeconomic, and health status variables, there were no statistically significant race differences in drug expenditures. Consistent with previous literature, racial and ethnic disparities in the use of psychotropic drugs present problems of access to mental health care and services.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document