Who is using chronic acid suppression therapy and why?

Objectives: Acid suppression medications have become one of the most commonly prescribed classes of therapeutic agents. Because little data exists describing the chronic use of these agents among a general population, we sought to determine the patterns of use of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) and histamine type 2 receptor antagonists (H2RAs) in clinical practice, as well as the distribution and severity of symptoms in patients prescribed these therapies.

Methods: Pharmacy billing data from two insurers were used to identify all patients on chronic (>90 days) PPIs and H2RAs within a large, eastern Massachusetts provider network.