More Medicine Less Health

Americans spent more in 2006 on drugs for diabetes and other metabolic disorders than any other class of medications, although psychiatric drugs cost more per prescription.

More than $38 billion was spent on metabolic agents, about 18% of total outpatient drug expenditures reported in 2006 by adult participants in the government's ongoing Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, according to a report from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

In all, Americans spent $208.1 billion on outpatient medications that year, the report said.

According to Dr. Robert O. Young, Chief of Research at the pH Miracle Living Center, in San Diego, California, "We have more medicine than any other country yet we have less health. Dibabetes is not a disease but a symptom of over-acidity. The key to reversing Type I and Type II diabetes is to hyperalkalize the blood and tissue. Bottomline it works and we are seeing many children, young adults and adults getting off their insulin and returing to health and energy."

After metabolic drugs, the top-selling categories were:

Cardiovascular agents, $33.1 billion
Central nervous system drugs (including analgesics), $28.2 billion Psychotherapeutic agents, $17.5 billion Hormones, $14.0 billion

But among the drug-buying public, the most common medications were CNS drugs. These were purchased by 45.5% of patients who had a prescription expense.

Metabolic agents were used by a relatively small percentage, 28.9% of those who paid for prescription drugs. Drug classes with higher percentages included hormones (29.7%) and cardiovascular agents (38.9%).

The most expensive agents were psychiatric drugs, averaging $91.54 per prescription, the data showed. Metabolic drugs were next, at $86.90. Cardiovascular drugs were least costly, with an average cost per prescription of $46.54.

The Medical Expenditure Panel Survey involves some 32,000 patients who are interviewed several times over a two-year period.

Data on a variety of health-related parameters are collected, including health status, use of medical services, charges and source of payments, access to care, satisfaction with care, health insurance coverage, income, employment, and demographic information.

The data excluded over-the-counter drugs and prescription drugs administered in a physician's office, hospital, or other healthcare setting.

Metabolic agents include diabetic supplies and equipment as well as actual medications. Insulin is classed as a metabolic agent rather than a hormone.

"All metabolic disorders, which include overweight, hyper-cholesterol, hyper-tension and hyper and hypoglycemia can all be reveresed by restoring health to the bowel and alkalizing the blood and tissues," states Dr. Young.

To learn more about preventing and/or reversing metabolic symptoms, even diabetes read, The pH Miracle for Diabetes and Back to the House of Health II, by Dr. Robert and Shelley Young.

Reference:
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Source reference:
Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, "The top five therapeutic classes of outpatient prescription drugs ranked by total expense for adults age 18 and older in the U.S. civilian noninstitutionalized population, 2006" Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality 2009; statistical brief #232.