Study: Mail Order Pharmacy Keeps Growing in Popularity

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MANAGED CARE May 2002. ©MediMedia USA

The tech-savvy may denigrate it as "snail mail," but patients see value in reaching into their mailboxes for pharmaceuticals.

Mail order sales of prescription drugs nearly doubled between 1998 and 2001, according to a study by the National Institute for Health Care Management Research and Educational Foundation.

While overall sales at the pharmacy counter grew faster than those for mail order, mail order's growth rate, expressed as sheer percentage, was considerably higher than that seen in retail pharmacies.

Spending on prescriptions at the drugstore

Mail order sales of prescription drugs

SOURCE: THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR HEALTH CARE MANAGEMENT RESEARCH AND EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION, 2002