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This statistic displays the estimated avoidable healthcare costs in the United States in 2012, by key area. In that year, antibiotic misuse may have created a total of **** billion U.S. dollars in avoidable costs. Total avoidable healthcare costs may reach *** billion U.S. dollars annually. Expected increase in insurance coverage, chronic diseases, and an aging population may place further stresses on the need for proper medication use to prevent avoidable healthcare costs.

Avoidable healthcare costs

The United States spent U.S. dollars per capita on national healthcare expenditure in 2011, a significant increase from U.S. dollars in 1990. In 2012, non-adherence and delayed evidence-based treatment practices were among the top reasons causing avoidable healthcare costs in the United States, with an estimated billion and **** billion U.S. dollars in avoidable costs, respectively. Non-adherence can be attributed to patients who do not take prescribed medication appropriately or at all, this can increase costs due to worsening conditions. Delayed evidence-based treatment practice occurs when medication is not provided to patients at a cost- and health-effective time. Avoidable costs due to non-adherence were estimated to be ** billion U.S. dollars in 2013 for hypercholesterolemia and **** billion U.S. dollars for diabetes. Medical non-adherence was once mostly contributed to price, however, the availability of generic products has made treatment more accessible. Factors such as lack of information, fear of side effects, substance abuse, as well as health and cultural beliefs now play a strong role in non-adherence to medication among patients.

Unnecessary healthcare utilization and scripts contribute to a significant share of avoidable healthcare costs in the United States. There were approximately ** million hospital visits in 2012 and an estimated *** billion U.S. dollars for hospital admissions that could have been avoided.