More unit sales, more use of higher-priced products, price hikes, and more data collection pushed total U.S. Rx pharmaceutical sales to $56 billion in 1992, according to IMS America's latest class of trade analysis.

Measured in manufacturers' dollars, pharmaceutical sales posted an adjusted growth rate of 13.3% last year over the previous year, reported IMS America, a Dun & Bradstreet company that tracks data covering about 98% of the U.S. market. The market's growth rate was down from the 17.7% gain in 1991. Frank Deardorff, IMS America's group sales director, believes that restraint on price hikes accounted for the dip in the rate of growth.

Pharmacy's big three--chains, hospitals, and independents--maintained their hold on the pharmaceutical market, accounting for $38.9 billion in sales, or 69.4% of the market tracked by IMS America. Chain sales were $13.7 billion, up 10.2%, while hospital sales grew by 6.7% to $12.5 billion, and independents posted sales of $12.6 billion, a 6.8% gain.

On the other hand, the trio that traditionally holds the Rx high ground continued to lose market share. The biggest gainers last year were the visiting nurse/home health-care segment, which grew by an adjusted rate of 52%. …