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. 2008 Jun 26;23(9):1435–1440. doi: 10.1007/s11606-008-0689-7

Table 3.

Top Ten Drugs Used in the US by Volume and Associated Savings with Federal Supply Schedule

Prescription drug Annual # prescriptions (weighted) Current expenditures, Medical Expenditure Panel Survey* Absolute savings with Federal Supply Schedule prices * Percentage of current expenditure saved*
Atorvastatin (Lipitor) 39,604,209 $4,503,599,518 $1,321,679,381 29.3%
Furosemide 25,436,137 285,571,827 263,271,595 92.2%
Lisinopril 23,265,084 1,164,407,869 1,061,399,316 91.2%
Hydrochlorothiazide 22,127,830 210,155,282 182,224,109 86.7%
Atenolol 21,679,039 993,571,279 945,249,018 95.1%
Amlodipine (Norvasc) 19,960,498 1,493,847,690 456,753,328 30.6%
Levothyroxine (Synthroid) 19,666,947 523,465,215 443,815,117 84.8%
Simvastatin (Zocor) 19,224,615 2,358,898,147 662,973,114 28.1%
Metoprolol SR (Toprol XL) 15,998,237 840,934,795 169,061,035 20.1%
Clopidogrel (Plavix) 13,132,527 1,753,964,659 390,588,927 22.3%

*All amounts are calculated in 2006 dollars