Healthcare Insights

Top 25 drugs used in outpatient procedures

There is a growing emphasis on outpatient care in the United States. Outpatient care facilities play an important role in reducing healthcare costs while also satisfying patient desires for convenient, quality care.

Outpatient care is especially important for coordinating care for patients with chronic conditions since their conditions can require frequent doctor visits.

In this Healthcare Insight, we use Definitive Healthcare ClaimsMx data from PhysicianGroupView to review ambulatory medications administered during outpatient visits from January to August 2022. We filtered our data by the chemotherapy and drugs not administered orally Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) sub-categories, which include infused and injected medications that are billed as a procedure.

Top medication administration procedures

RankHCPCS codeHCPCS descriptionPercent of outpatient encountersExplore dataset
1J3301Triamcinolone acetonide, injection, 10mg12.30%Explore
2J1100Dexamethasone sodium phosphate, injection, 1mg8.10%Explore
3J3420Vitamin B-12 injection, 1000mcg4.20%Explore
4J1885Ketorolac tromethamine, injection, 15mg3.80%Explore
5J0178Alfibercept, injection, 1mg3.70%Explore
6J0702Betamethasone acetate and betamethasone sodium phosphate, injection, 3 mg3.40%Explore
7J0696Ceftriaxone sodium, injection, 250mg3.20%Explore
8J1030Methylprednisolone acetate, injection, 40mg3.20%Explore
9J9035Bevacizumab, injection, 10mg2.90%Explore
10J3490Unclassified drugs, injection2.40%Explore
11J1071Testosterone cypionate, injection, 1mg2.20%Explore
12J1040Methylprednisolone acetate, injection, 80mg2.10%Explore
13J1050Medroxyprogesterone acetate, injection, 1mg1.70%Explore
14J1200Diphenhydramine HCL, injection, 50mg1.60%Explore
15J2785Regadenoson, injection, 0.1mg1.60%Explore
16J0585OnabotulinumtoxinA, injection, 1 unit1.50%Explore
17J7030Normal saline solution, infusion, 1000cc1.40%Explore
18J7050Normal saline solution, infusion, 250cc1.10%Explore
19J2405Ondansetron hydrochloride, per 1mg1.10%Explore
20J0897Denosumab, injection, 1mg1.10%Explore
21J2469Palonosetron HCL, injection, 25mcg1.00%Explore
22J1756Iron sucrose, injection, 1mg1.00%Explore
23J2930Methylprednisolone sodium succinate, injection, 125mg0.90%Explore
24J2778Ranibizumab, injection, 0.1mg0.80%Explore
25J2357Omalizumab, injection, 5mg0.80%Explore

Fig. 1 Data is from the Definitive Healthcare ClaimsMx and PhysicianGroupView products from January to August 2022. Claims data is sourced from multiple medical claims clearinghouses in the United States and is updated monthly. Data accessed September 2022.

What are the most common injected or infused medications?

Triamcinolone acetonide (J3301) and dexamethasone sodium phosphate (J1100) account for nearly one-quarter of chemotherapy and injection/infusion medications on the list. Both are used to treat arthritis, a common inflammatory condition.

Vitamin B injections (J3420) for deficiencies of the vitamin, ketorolac tromethamine (J1885) for pain management, and aflibercept (J0178) for age-related macular degeneration (AMD) complete the top five drugs used in outpatient procedures list.

What conditions do injected and infused medication treat?

Additional conditions treated by medications on the list include:

Learn more

Healthcare Insights are developed with healthcare commercial intelligence from the Definitive Healthcare platform. Want even more insights? Start a free trial now and get access to the latest healthcare commercial intelligence on hospitals, physicians, and other healthcare providers.