9 August 2002 News Update

ALZHEIMER'S STUDY

A four-fold increase on drug therapy for mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease resulted in a one-third decline in total costs, according to a study published in the March issue of Managed Care Interface.

The study looked at claims for 408 patients in a Medicare managed care plan, 204 of who were taking the drug and a control group of another 204 randomly selected untreated patients.

The average prescription drugs were US$352 for the control group compare to US $1,398 for the group receiving drug therapy. However, the patients receiving drug therapy had inpatient hospital costs of US$2,883 less than the control group.

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