Methods
Our analysis of prescription drugs is based primarily on an independent and unbiased review of the scientific evidence on the effectiveness and safety of drugs in specific classes, such as drugs to treat high blood pressure, heartburn, high cholesterol, depression, or migraine headaches.
These reviews are conducted by teams of physicians and researchers at several medical schools under the auspices of the Drug Effectiveness Review Project (DERP). DERP is a first–of–its–kind 13–state initiative to evaluate the comparative effectiveness and safety of commonly used prescription drugs. The states use the information to help guide drug coverage policy for their Medicaid programs. Researchers at the Oregon Health & Science University (in Portland) coordinate the project. None of the research teams have any financial interest in any pharmaceutical company or product. Their detailed findings are presented in a series of technical reports. Those are available by clicking here. Dr. Mark Helfand of OHSU serves as a consultant to the Best Buy Drugs project, helping us translate the DERP analyses for consumers. Occasionally we rely on unbiased reports conducted by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality under a provision of the Medicare Modernization Act.
The drug prices we use come from a healthcare information company that tracks the sales of prescription drugs in the U.S. All the prices are national averages (for consumers who paid cash) based on data from pharmacies nationwide. As such, they may not reflect what you will pay at a local pharmacy. Indeed, prices for drugs vary quite widely, even within a single city or town.
Our Best Buy picks are based on a comparison of the drugs in that class to each other. The main criteria we use are a drug’s effectiveness and safety, the side effects it may cause, its’ convenience of use (for example, how many pills you have to take each day), its track record in studies and actual use, and of course how much it costs relative to others drugs. There is no set formula for choosing our Best Buys. The factors differ in each category, and some of those factors are quite subtle. However, in general, our Best Buys are chosen because they are: (a) as effective as all the other drugs in the category, or more so; (b) as safe and cause no more – and usually fewer – side effects than other drugs in the category; and (c) cost less on average than other drugs in the category. That is not always true, though. Several of the Best Buys have been chosen because of their superior effectiveness or safety profile even though they cost more. Overall, a drug’s effectiveness relative to its competitors is the most important criteria in choosing our Best Buys.
Our Best Buy picks may change over time as new scientific evidence emerges and/or as drug prices change. Also, new generic drugs may become available in a given category.
