Fig. 2
From: Cost patterns of long-term prescribed medications in patients with multiple sclerosis in Germany
Distribution of drug prescriptions and annual medication costs. (A) For the 728 patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), a total of 2,681 long-term drug prescriptions (Rx) were recorded. Only few patients (n = 32, 4.4%) received no drug, whereas 231 patients (31.7%) received at least 5 drugs (i.e., Rx polypharmacy). (B) Although disease-modifying drugs for MS accounted for only 21.8% of all prescriptions, they contributed to 92.1% of the total medication costs. (C) Cost distribution, with each vertical segment representing one patient, ordered by increasing annual medication cost. Dashed vertical lines indicate the 5th, 25th, 50th, 75th and 95th percentiles. The median medication costs for the patients amounted to €10,994 per year. The medication costs exceeded €35,000 for 7 patients.
