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A new study by found that patients who received free drug samples had significantly higher prescription drug expenses that patients who did not receive samples.

The study found that patients who received free samples spent $166 in the six months prior to receiving the samples, $244 in the six months they received the samples and $212 in the six months following. Patients not receiving samples spent only $178 on prescription medication of six months.

"This is a curious finding because one would think, intuitively, that if you receive a free sample, one's out-of-pocket prescription cost would be lower, not higher," said lead researcher Dr. G. Caleb Alexander, an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Chicago Medical Center.

Alexander believes there are several explanations one of which is that patients who receive free samples may be sicker than patients who don't get samples. "The second possibility is that patients who receive free samples may go on to receive and fill prescriptions for the very same medicine that were initially begun as free samples," Alexander said. "We know that drugs that are available as free samples are those that are being widely marketed and promoted and these drugs are more expensive than their older, less promoted counterparts."

For the study, Alexander's team collected data on 5,709 patients who had participated in the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. The survey was done by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the patients were followed for up to two years.

The pharmaceutical industry issued the following statement: "Free pharmaceutical samples are beneficial to patients of all income levels. Patients are able to try out a new therapy - gaining valuable first-hand experience of its benefits and side effects - without making a co-payment," said Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) senior vice president Ken Johnson. "What's more, contrary to statements made by critics, America's physicians prescribe medicines based on a wide range of factors, not simply receipt of free prescription drug samples," Johnson added.

The study findings are published in the March 24 issue of the journal Medical Care.

[Source:YahooNews]