The Canadian Institute for Health Information released a new study that found that drug costs rose only 4 percent between 2010 and 2011, the smallest increase in spending since 1985. Between 1985 and 2011, drug expenditures have risen at an average rate of 8.5 percent each year. To explain the slowdown in spending, the report pointed to several factors, including patent expirations for blockbuster drugs, tough new generic pricing policies, generic substitution policies, and a change in prescribing patterns.
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