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Status of 796 Medical Specialties
Status of 796 Medical Specialties By Hillory W. Still and C. Lee Huyck
With increasing use of medical specialties, concern mounts over an assumed decline in the use of official drugs In this study, Hillory W. Still, chief pharmacist, Firmin Desloge Hospital, St. Louis, Mo., and C. Lee Huyck, professor of industrial pharmacy, St. Louis (Mo.) College of Pharmacy and Allied Sciences, chart the occurrence of official drugs in 796 medical specialties. HE GROWING popularity of medical specialty items does not mean decreased use of official drugs. Far from it. The fact is: a study of specialties shows use of official drugs to be greater today than any time in recent memory. One of the reasons for this is most of the specialties are official drugs, combinations of official drugs or combinations of drugs official and unofficial. What are medical specialties? For this study, we classed them as a pharmaceutical preparation manufactured and marketed under a registered trademark and prescribed by the physician. Along the same line, we labeled official drugs those to be found in U. S. P. XIV and N. F. IX. A total of 796 specialties were tabulated after checking more than 5,000 prescriptions, written and filled at exclusively prescription shops from January through June, 1952, in Birmingham, Ala. These specialty-item prescriptions contained 2,105 active ingredients. Of these, 1,341 or 63.7 per cent were official in U . S. P., while 177 or 8.4 per cent were official in N. F. In fact, 72.1 per cent of the active ingredients in specialties considered were official. Nine of these 10 most prescribed items contained only one active ingredient, and in five
T
Februdry, 1955
cases that ingredient was official. Of the- active ingredients here, G1.5 per cent were official.
Table I.-Most Frequently Prescribed Dosage Forllls Occurrence per 1000 Prescriptions
Dosage Forms
Tablets Elixirs Solutions (exclusive of ophthalmic solutions, parenterals, and syrups) Ointments, creams, and jellies Emulsions and suspensions Syrups Lozenges, wafers, buccal tablets, and linguets Suppositories Powders and granules Ophthalmic solutions Paren terals
377 .02 96 .03 55 . 17 44.48 43 .29 21.25 20 .28 13.45 12.04 11 .40 10 .60
REFERENCES Folson, J. Paul , "Physicians' Desk Ref erence to Pharmaceutical Specialties and Biologicals 1953," Seventh Edition , Medical Economics, Inc. , Rutherford, N . J ., 1952. Howard , Marion E ., " Modern Drug EncYclopedia and Therapeutic Inde x," Fourth Edition , Drug Publications, Inc ., New York , N . Y ., 1952. Rennick, Dan , " American Druggi st 1952 Blue Book ," American Druggist , New York, 1952.
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With increasing use of medical specialties, concern mounts over an assumed decline in the use of official drugs In this study, Hillory W. Still, chief pharmacist, Firmin Desloge Hospital, St. Louis, Mo., and C. Lee Huyck, professor of industrial pharmacy, St. Louis (Mo.) College of Pharmacy and Allied Sciences, chart the occurrence of official drugs in 796 medical specialties. HE GROWING popularity of medical specialty items does not mean decreased use of official drugs. Far from it. The fact is: a study of specialties shows use of official drugs to be greater today than any time in recent memory. One of the reasons for this is most of the specialties are official drugs, combinations of official drugs or combinations of drugs official and unofficial. What are medical specialties? For this study, we classed them as a pharmaceutical preparation manufactured and marketed under a registered trademark and prescribed by the physician. Along the same line, we labeled official drugs those to be found in U. S. P. XIV and N. F. IX. A total of 796 specialties were tabulated after checking more than 5,000 prescriptions, written and filled at exclusively prescription shops from January through June, 1952, in Birmingham, Ala. These specialty-item prescriptions contained 2,105 active ingredients. Of these, 1,341 or 63.7 per cent were official in U . S. P., while 177 or 8.4 per cent were official in N. F. In fact, 72.1 per cent of the active ingredients in specialties considered were official. Nine of these 10 most prescribed items contained only one active ingredient, and in five
T
Februdry, 1955
cases that ingredient was official. Of the- active ingredients here, G1.5 per cent were official.
Table I.-Most Frequently Prescribed Dosage Forllls Occurrence per 1000 Prescriptions
Dosage Forms
Tablets Elixirs Solutions (exclusive of ophthalmic solutions, parenterals, and syrups) Ointments, creams, and jellies Emulsions and suspensions Syrups Lozenges, wafers, buccal tablets, and linguets Suppositories Powders and granules Ophthalmic solutions Paren terals
377 .02 96 .03 55 . 17 44.48 43 .29 21.25 20 .28 13.45 12.04 11 .40 10 .60
REFERENCES Folson, J. Paul , "Physicians' Desk Ref erence to Pharmaceutical Specialties and Biologicals 1953," Seventh Edition , Medical Economics, Inc. , Rutherford, N . J ., 1952. Howard , Marion E ., " Modern Drug EncYclopedia and Therapeutic Inde x," Fourth Edition , Drug Publications, Inc ., New York , N . Y ., 1952. Rennick, Dan , " American Druggi st 1952 Blue Book ," American Druggist , New York, 1952.
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