Price of Antipsychotics Varies Significantly Between Pharmacies, Study Finds

The price of antipsychotic medications varies significantly between pharmacies, sometimes by differences of over $1,000, according to astudy published inPsychiatric Services in Advance.Carrie R. Kriz, M.S., Leigh Anne Nelson, Pharm.D., B.C.P.P., and colleagues from the University of Missouri-Kansas City collected data by calling 281 pharmacies in the Kansas City area and requesting the cash price of a 30-day supply of six generically available antipsychotic medications. Each call included requests for the cash price of two medications at the specific strength and number of doses to “mimic a patient’s interaction and limit questions from the pharmacy,” the authors wrote. (Pharmacy students called each pharmacy three separate times to obtain prices for all six medications.)The medications were the second-generation antipsychotics risperidone at 4 mg per day, olanzapine at 20 mg per day, quetiapine at 600 mg per day, ziprasidone at 160 mg per day, and aripiprazole at 20 mg per day and the first-generation antipsychotic haloperidol at 10 mg per day.Of the pharmacies called, 265 responded to phone queries between April 25, 2017, and May 25, 2017. There were significant pricing variations between all types of pharmacies, including nationwide chains, grocery store pharmacies, and independent pharmacies. Haloperidol had the lowest price difference ($20-$102.99), while aripiprazole had the highest difference ($29.99-$1,345). There were also significant differences in price for o...
Source: Psychiatr News - Category: Psychiatry Tags: antipsychotics aripiprazole Carrie Kriz haloperidol Leigh Anne Nelson olanzapine Psychiatric Services in Advance quetiapine risperidone ziprasidone Source Type: research