Do wealthier people buy more prescription drugs?

More affluent patients tend to buy prescription drugs for lifestyle problems, such as erectile dysfunction and baldness, more frequently when compared with less affluent patients, according to new research from GoodRx, a company that tracks prescription drug prices.

The analysis also showed that richer patients were more likely to buy drugs for certain serious conditions even though richer patients tend to be in better overall health. Despite the findings, researchers noted that prescriptions and income don’t track well for most health conditions, according to a February 7, 2019 New York Times article.

Niteesh Choudhry, a professor in Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health’s Department of Health Policy and Management, who was not involved in the study, told the Times that his own research has not shown a link between income and prescription drug use. Choudhry said cultural and racial factors, as well as insurance coverage, are better predictors than income.

Read the New York Times article: The Prescription Drugs That Rich People Buy

Read GoodRx blog post: The Effect of Income on U.S. Prescription Fill Patterns