Agency for Healthcare 

Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Research and Quality 

STATISTICAL BRIEF #60 

December 2004 

Top 10 Outpatient Prescription 

Medicines Ranked by Utilization and 

Expenditures for the U.S. Community 

Population, 2002 

Marie N. Stagnitti, MPA 

Introduction 

This Statistical Brief provides a summary of the top 10 outpatient 

prescription medicines by utilization and expenditures as reported by 

households in the U.S. civilian noninstitutionalized (community) 

population in calendar year 2002. The brief further displays the increase in total expenditures in outpatient prescription medicines over 

time. This brief is intended to highlight the 2002 Medical Expenditure 

Panel Survey (MEPS) prescribed medicine data and is the first of 

several planned Statistical Briefs to be released in tandem with the 

annual release of the MEPS prescribed medicines public use files. 

The data used to provide the estimates in this brief are derived from 

the Household Component of the 2002 Medical Expenditure Panel 

Survey (MEPS-HC). All results discussed are statistically significant 

at the 0.05 level. Over-the-counter medicines and free samples are 

not included in these estimates. 

Findings 

In 2002, the top 10 household-reported prescribed medicines when 

ranked by annual expenditures totaled $28.86 billion. This represented 19.2 percent of the $150.6 billion spent on all prescription 

medicines in 2002 (figure 1) and included the following: 

Top 10 Prescribed Medicines by Total Expenditures, 2002 

Rank Prescribed medicine name Total dollars (in billions) 

1 Lipitor $5.91 

2 Zocor $4.41 

3 Prevacid $2.96 

4 Prilosec $2.60 

5 Celebrex $2.38 

6 Paxil $2.24 

7 Pravachol $2.13 

8 Zoloft $2.10 

9 Claritin $2.07 

10 Norvasc $2.06 

Total Total of top 10 $28.86 

Highlights 

� Expenditures for prescribed 

medicines reported as purchased by respondents in the 

U.S. community population 

totaled $150.6 billion in 2002, 

an increase of 12.3 percent 

from the $134.1 billion total 

reported in 2001, and an increase of 131 percent from the 

$65.3 billion total prescribed 

medicine expenditures in 

1996. 

� In 2002, when ranked by total 

expenditures, the top 10 prescribed medicines totaled 

$28.86 billion, representing 

nearly 20 percent (19.2 percent) of total prescribed medicine expenditures. 

� Lipitor, a cholesterol-lowering 

medicine, ranked number one 

in terms of total utilization 

(66.68 million prescriptions) 

and total expenditures ($5.9 

billion) in 2002. 

� Lipitor, Zocor, and Pravachol, 

the three cholesterol-lowering 

prescribed medicines that 

ranked in the 2002 top 10 list 

for total expenditures, totaled 

$12.5 billion and accounted for 

approximately 8 percent of 

total prescribed medicine 

expenditures in 2002. 

� In 2002, Hydrochlorothiazide, 

Atenolol, Toprol, Norvasc, and 

Furosemide, five antihypertensive medicines, made the 

2002 top 10 list when ranking 

by total purchases and had 

total prescriptions of 206.37 

million, which represented 7.6 

percent of all prescriptions 

purchased by the U.S. community population. 
In 2002, Lipitor, a cholesterol-lowering medicine, ranked first in terms of expenditures at $5.91 billion, and 

Zocor, also a cholesterol-lowering medicine, ranked second at $4.41 billion. Pravachol, the third 

cholesterol-lowering medicine to make the top 10 list when ranking by total expenditures in 2002, ranked 

seventh with a total of $2.13 billion. These three medicines alone totaled $12.5 billion, and represented 

8.3 percent of total prescription medicine expenditures in 2002. 

Ranking third and fourth in 2002 total prescription medicine expenditures were two antiulcer medicines, 

Prevacid and Prilosec. Prevacid ranked third with a total of $2.96 billion, and Prilosec ranked fourth with 

$2.60 billion. The total expenditures for these two medicines combined ($5.56 billion) represented 3.7 

percent of total prescription medicine expenditures in 2002. 

Paxil and Zoloft, two antidepressant medicines, ranked sixth and eighth, respectively, with expenditures 

of $2.24 billion and $2.10 billion, respectively. The total for these two medicines, $4.34 billion, 

represented 2.9 percent of total prescription medicine expenditures in 2002. 

Celebrex, a Cox-2 Inhibitor anti-inflammatory, ranked fifth in total prescription medicine expenditures in 

2002 with expenditures of $2.38 billion. Rounding out the top 10 medicines when ranked by total 

expenditures in 2002 at the ninth and tenth spots were Claritin (an antihistamine) and Norvasc (an 

antihypertensive). In 2002, expenditures for Claritin totaled $2.07 billion and Norvasc totaled $2.06 billion. 

In 2002, the top 10 household-reported prescribed medicines when ranked by total annual utilization 

totaled 439 million prescriptions. This represented 16.3 percent of the 2.7 billion total prescription 

medicines purchased in 2002 and included the following: 

Top 10 Prescribed Medicines by Total Utilization, 2002 

Rank Prescribed medicine name Total utilization 

(in millions of prescriptions) 

1 Lipitor 66.68 

2 Synthroid 51.72 

3 Hydrochlorothiazide 48.25 

4 Atenolol 47.53 

5 Toprol 42.77 

6 Premarin 42.71 

7 Zocor 37.09 

8 Norvasc 35.01 

9 Albuterol 34.44 

10 Furosemide 32.81 

Total Total of Top 10 439.01 

Lipitor ranked first in terms of utilization (as well as expenditures, as stated above) with a total of 66.68 

million prescriptions purchased in 2002. Zocor ranked seventh in terms of total number of prescriptions 

purchased with 37.09 million prescriptions. The utilization for these two cholesterol-lowering medicines 

combined totaled 103.77 million prescriptions and represented nearly 4 percent (3.9 percent) of total 

medicine purchases in 2002. 

Synthroid, a thyroid medicine, was second when ranking by total purchases with 51.72 million 

prescriptions purchased in 2002. 

The medicines ranked third (Hydrochlorothiazide), fourth (Atenolol), fifth (Toprol), eighth (Norvasc), and 

tenth (Furosemide) are all antihypertensive medicines and had the following in terms of total prescriptions 

purchased in 2002: 48.25 million, 47.53 million, 42.77 million, 35.01 million, and 32.81 million 

prescriptions, respectively, for a combined total of 206.37 million prescriptions. This combined total 

represented 7.6 percent of the 2.7 billion prescriptions purchased in 2002. 

Premarin, an estrogen, ranked sixth with 42.71 million prescriptions purchased in 2002. In the ninth spot, 

in terms of the top 10 medicines by total number of purchases in 2002, was Albuterol, a bronchodilator. In 

2002, Albuterol had a total of 34.44 million prescriptions purchased. 
Data Source 

The estimates in this Statistical Brief are drawn from analyses using the 2002 MEPS Prescribed 

Medicines public use file, HC-067A. 

About MEPS-HC 

MEPS-HC is a nationally representative longitudinal survey that collects detailed information on health 

care utilization and expenditures, health insurance, and health status, as well as a wide variety of social, 

demographic, and economic characteristics for the civilian noninstitutionalized population. It is 

cosponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the National Center for Health 

Statistics. 

For more information about MEPS, call the MEPS information coordinator at AHRQ (301-427-1406) or 

visit the MEPS Web site at http://www.meps.ahrq.gov/. 

References 

For a detailed description of the MEPS-HC survey design, sample design, and methods used to minimize 

sources on nonsampling error, see the following publications: 

Cohen, J. Design and Methods of the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Household Component. MEPS 

Methodology Report No. 1. AHCPR Pub. No. 97-0026. Rockville, Md.: Agency for Health Care Policy and 

Research, 1997. 

Cohen, S. Sample Design of the 1996 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Household Component. MEPS 

Methodology Report No. 2. AHCPR Pub. No. 97-0027. Rockville, Md.: Agency for Health Care Policy and 

Research, 1997. 

Suggested Citation 

Stagnitti, M. N. Top 10 Outpatient Prescription Medicines Ranked by Utilization and Expenditures for 

the U.S. Community Population, 2002. Statistical Brief #60. December 2004. Agency for Healthcare 

Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://www.meps.ahrq.gov/papers/st60/stat60.pdf 
Expenditure Panel Survey, 1996 - 2002 

103.0 

134.1 

150.6 

94.2 

78.0 

72.3 65.3 

$0 

$50 

$100 

$150 

$200 

1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 

Billions 

Source: Center for Financing, Access, and Cost Trends, AHRQ, Household Component of the Medical 

Figure 1. Total prescription drug expenditures for the U.S. civilian 

noninstitutionalized population, 1996–2002