Patterns of outpatient prescription drug use among Pennsylvania elderly.

Abstract

The Pennsylvania Pharmaceutical Assistance Contract for the Elderly (PACE) provides outpatient prescription drug coverage for nearly one-half million State residents 65 years of age or over with income under $15,000 per year. A description of the PACE program is provided herein, along with data and multivariate results relating to the demographic characteristics of PACE beneficiaries, duration of enrollments, drug utilization and expenditure rates, average prices for covered prescriptions, and drug expense distributions.