1.1B US doctor visits in 2006, 2.6B drugs Rxed

US patients made an estimated 1.1 billion visits to physician offices and hospital out-patient or emergency departments in 2006, an average of four visits per person for the year, according to new health care statistics released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Seven out of 10 visits had at least one medication provided, prescribed or continued, for a total of 2.6 billion drugs overall. Analgesics were the most common, accounting for 13.6% of all drugs prescribed, and were most often used during primary care and emergency department visits.

The data, compiled from various components of CDC's National Center for Health Statistics National Health Care Survey, are featured in a series of new National Health Statistics Reports. The number of visits to physician offices and hospital out-patient and emergency departments increased by 26% from 1996 to 2006, faster than the USA's population growth (11%). This development can be linked to the aging of the population.

Patients with Medicaid use the emergency department far more frequently, the CDC noted, than those with private insurance, 82 per 100 persons for Medicaid versus 21 per 100 for private insurance.