Table 2.
Antibiotic prescriptions among general dentists stratified by appropriateness of antibiotic prescribed (if the antibiotic is routinely used in general dentistry), within the Express Scripts database, January 2013 to December 2015.
| Year | Appropriateness | No. of Prescriptions (millions) | Prescriptions/1,000 beneficiaries (%) | Total Drug Costs ($) | Costs per 1,000 beneficiaries ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Appropriate | 2.04 | 66.84 (98) | 17,245,993 | 564.11 |
| Inappropriate | 0.04 | 1.25 (2) | 1,516,367 | 49.60 | |
| 2014 | Appropriate | 2.05 | 65.44 (98) | 14,878,372 | 475.38 |
| Inappropriate | 0.03 | 1.06 (2) | 1,717,242 | 54.87 | |
| 2015 | Appropriate | 2.04 | 68.20 (98) | 13,280,603 | 444.66 |
| Inappropriate | 0.03 | 0.95 (2) | 2,014,101 | 67.44 | |
| Total | Appropriate | 6.13 | 66.83 (98) | 45,404,968 | 494.72 |
| Inappropriate | 0.10 | 1.09 (2) | 5,247,710 | 57.30 |
Note. Detailed appropriateness designations are available in supplemental table. Costs examined in this study were calculated by adding the prescription drug plan costs and out-of-pocket patient costs. Plan costs included ingredient costs, taxes, dispensing fees and administrative fees and were not adjusted to exclude rebates.