Trends and Characteristics of Blood Pressure Prescription Fills Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United States.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted healthcare in the United States and raised concerns about certain antihypertensives, and may have impacted both prescribing practices and access to blood pressure (BP) medications.

Methods

We assessed trends in BP prescription fills before and during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, using cross-sectional data for BP fills and tablets in the IQVIA (IMS Health) National Prescription Audit® database. Drugs filled via retail (92% coverage), mail-order (78% coverage), and long-term care (72% coverage) channels from January 2018 through December 2020 were included. Data were projected nationally and by state.

Results

Between 2.9 and 3.4 billion BP tablets were dispensed monthly until February 2020, increasing sharply to 3.8

SUBMITTER: Yang PK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10345475 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature