Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Public Use File Details

MEPS HC-118A: 2008 Prescribed Medicines File
Release date: October 2010

This file is one in a series of public use event files from the 2008 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Household Component (MEPS HC) and Medical Provider Component (MPC). Released as an ASCII data file and SAS transport file (with SAS and SPSS user statements) this public use file provides detailed information on household-reported prescribed medicines for a nationally representative sample of the civilian noninstitutionalized population of the United States and can be used to make estimates of prescribed medicine utilization and expenditures for calendar year 2008. Each record represents one household-reported prescribed medicine that was purchased during calendar year 2008. These data were collected during the 2008 portion of Round 3 and Rounds 4 and 5 for Panel 12, as well as Rounds 1, 2 and the 2008 portion of Round 3 for Panel 13 of the MEPS HC. Each record on this event file represents a unique prescribed medicine event; that is, a prescribed medicine reported as being purchased or otherwise obtained by the household respondent, and includes the following: an identifier for each unique prescribed medicine; detailed characteristics associated with the event (e.g., national drug code (NDC), medicine name, etc.); selected Multum Lexicon variables; conditions, if any, associated with the medicine; the date on which the person first used the medicine; total expenditure and sources of payments; types of pharmacies that filled the household's prescriptions; and a full-year person level weight.

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Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Public Use File Details