Term: Drug Utilization Indicator

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Glossary Definition

Last Updated: 2005-11-29

Definition:

A measure of how the population uses a drug (pharmaceutical). Examples of indicators include: access (the proportion of residents who are dispensed at least one prescription per year; such residents are called "pharmaceutical users"), intensity of use (total number of prescriptions, defined daily doses or number of different drugs dispensed), and expenditures (amount paid by government agency and/or individual for the drug ingredients, professional fee and total prescription cost).

Related concepts 

• Calculating Costs/Expenditures for Pharmaceuticals

Related terms 

• Access to Pharmaceutical Care
• Defined Daily Dose (DDD)
• Expenditures for Pharmaceuticals
• Intensity of (Pharmaceutical) Use
• Number of Drugs (Different) Dispensed
• Pharmaceutical User
• Private Cost-Total
• Public Cost-Total

References 

• Metge C, Black C, Peterson S, Kozyrskyj A, Roos NP, Bogdanovic B. Analysis of Patterns of Pharmaceutical Use in Manitoba, 1996: Key Findings - A POPULIS Project. Winnipeg, MB: Manitoba Centre for Health Policy and Evaluation, 1999. [Report] [Summary] (View)
• Metge C, Kozyrskyj A, Dahl M, Yogendran M, Roos NP. Pharmaceuticals: Focussing on Appropriate Utilization. Winnipeg, MB: Manitoba Centre for Health Policy, 2003. [Report] [Summary] (View)