Published by the Journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings
Nearly 70 percent of Americans are on at least one prescription drug, more than half take two, and 20 percent of patients are on five or more prescription medications.
That’s according to a new study published online in the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings.
Researchers say the data is valuable because it gives insight into prescribing practices.
The findings reveal antibiotics, antidepressants and painkilling opioids are most commonly prescribed.
Study author Jennifer St. Sauver, Ph.D., a member of the Mayo Clinic Population Health Science Program in the Mayo Clinic Center for the Science of Health Care Delivery, says the statistics from the Rochester Epidemiology Project in Olmsted County, Minn., are comparable to those elsewhere in the United States.
