Use of non-antacid antiulcer agents in the treatment of heartburn and dyspepsia.

This study examined secondary-claims data to measure the cost of using non-antacid antiulcer agents to treat patients with heartburn or dyspepsia. Health care utilization data were obtained from the Pennsylvania Medicaid program. The study population comprised all enrollees with dyspepsia or heartburn, excluding those with a history of ulcers. The rate and cost of gastrointestinal-related outpatient services were examined for patients receiving antiulcer drug monotherapy. The mean age of the study population (n = 1830) was 39.1 years. Ranitidine patients (n = 856) received monotherapy for an average of 71.1 days. Cimetidine (n = 395) and famotidine (n = 255) patients received monotherapy for an average of 65.0 and 71.7 days, respectively. (Mean duration of monotherapy for the other four groups ranged from 58.0 to 112.6 days). On average, there were 0.83 prescriptions issued, 0.21 physician visits, and 0.23 outpatient hospital visits per patient-month across all treatment groups. The average cost to the Pennsylvania Medicaid program was approximately $68 monthly per patient. Drugs accounted for the majority of these costs ($51.04), followed by surgical/diagnostic procedures ($5.13), outpatient hospital visits ($4.89), and physician visits ($4.15).