Prescription Fill Patterns for Commonly Used Drugs During the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United States

Abstract

Conflicting information regarding the benefits of hydroxychloroquine/chloroquine and azithromycin in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) treatment and hypothetical concerns for drugs, such as angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs), have challenged care during the pandemic.1 However, limited data are available about how prescription of these therapies has changed. The objective of this exploratory analysis was to evaluate prescription patterns of these therapies, along with other commonly used drugs for reference, in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic. We hypothesized that the prescription of hydroxychloroquine/chloroquine and azithromycin would exceed historical estimates while ACE inhibitor/ARB use would be reduced.