CDPP provided initial results, through a brief to policy makers, of the costs of Medicare drug coverage by measuring trends in the extent of prescription drug coverage in the elderly, and how coverage affects the use of prescription drugs and drug costs.
 

A CDPP staff member has regularly consulted on drug safety issues with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).  Other CDPP consultation activities with FDA have included research on the impact of labeling changes, and the safety of pharmaceuticals in pregnant women.
 

CDPP has addressed international policy issues.  A staff member presented at the Second International Drug Pricing Policy Forum in Kunming, China.  At this forum, the Chinese government discussed development and policy implications of health care reform in China.
 

Over the years, CDPP has served a wide constituency by conducting research work for a variety of agencies in the federal, state, and local government and in the pharmaceutical industry.
 

CDPP has contributed to the debate on the impact of policies by hosting numerous conferences.  Recently, CDPP hosted a conference on the clinical and economic impact of breast cancer treatment and prevention in high-risk women.
 

In addition, CDPP has continued offering postdoctoral fellowships in pharmacy administration and research assistantships on CDPP grants.
 

The NASA-Maryland Asthma Project is a collaborative study of  researchers to look at environmental factors influencing asthma epidemics in Maryland.  Combining clinical and health data, over 150 environmental variables obtained from landbased instruments and earth-observing satellites will be analyzed to see if  factors can be identified that might explain the seasonal asthma patterns as well as periods with a very high, perhaps epidemic, number of pediatric asthma hospitalizations.
 

The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation and CDPP are working on investigation of the current Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) situation in the U.S. as well as trends in the use of DTC advertising of prescription drugs.
 

Searle Pharmaceuticals and CDPP are developing data collection instruments to supplement clinical trials research for a drug in Phase II development as well as estimating the current burden of illness of hypertension in the U.S.