Does the CDC recommend the use of pharmacy data for arthritis surveillance or to make cost estimates?
No. One problem is that very few arthritis medications are used only for arthritis; most are used for other conditions as well. For example, some of the biologics can cost $15,000 to $20,000 a year and are used for other conditions like inflammatory bowel disease. This is an issue that needs to be further explored to determine the utility of these data.
