Multiple pharmacy use and types of pharmacies used to obtain prescriptions.

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate trends and patterns in the prevalence of multiple pharmacy use (MPU) and to describe the number and types of pharmacies used by multiple pharmacy users from 2003 to 2009.

DESIGN

Retrospective, cross-sectional, descriptive study.

SETTING

United States from 2003 to 2009.

PARTICIPANTS

89,941 responses to the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey over 7 years.

INTERVENTION

Analysis of respondent pharmacy use behaviors.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Annual use of more than one pharmacy and number and types of pharmacies used.

RESULTS

MPU among patients using medications increased significantly during the study period (from 36.4% [95% CI 35.2-37.6] in 2003 to 43.2% [41.9-44.4] in 2009)-a relative increase of 18.7% ( P = 0.01). Multiple pharmacy users used between 2 and 17 different pharmacies per year to obtain prescription medications. Although approximately 70% of multiple pharmacy users used only two pharmacies, the proportion using three or more pharmacies increased from 24.1% (22.5-25.7) in 2003 to 29.1% (27.4-30.8) in 2009. Mail service pharmacy use had the largest relative increase among multiple pharmacy users during the study period (27.2%), and MPU was nearly twice as high (75%) among mail service users compared with non-mail service users.

CONCLUSION

MPU is common on a national level and has increased greatly in recent years. Patient use of pharmacies that have the potential to share medication information electronically is low among multiple pharmacy users, suggesting increased workload for pharmacists and potential medication safety concerns. This has important implications for pharmacists, as it potentially impedes their ability to maintain accurate medication profiles for patients.