U.S. prescription drug use fell in ’08, study says

NEW YORK (AP) — Prescription drug use in the U.S. fell last year, although total spending on drugs increased as prices rose sharply on brand-name products, pharmacy benefits manager Medco Health Solutions said today.

Medco said the overall decline in prescriptions was the first in a decade.

The company, which handles drug benefits covering about 60 million people, said total prescription use was down because few new drugs were launched last year, former blockbuster drugs like Zyrtec became available without a prescription, and some drugs faced safety issues that led to decreased use.

Those factors had a bigger impact on prescriptions than the recession, the company said.