Hydroxychloroquine Sulfate
Brand names: Hydroxychloroquine Sulfate, Plaquenil
At a glance
- Medicare prescriptions, 2024
- 2,184,734
- Medicare drug cost
- $85.1M
- Average cost per prescription
- $38.97
- Clinicians who prescribed it
- 25,070
Where it is prescribed
List the prescribers in any state, county, city or ZIP code →
What it is used for
PLAQUENIL is an antimalarial and antirheumatic indicated for the: • Treatment of uncomplicated malaria due to Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium malariae, Plasmodium ovale, and Plasmodium vivax in adult and pediatric patients. • Prophylaxis of malaria in geographic areas where chloroquine resistance is not reported in adult and pediatric patients. • Treatment of rheumatoid arthritis in adults. • Treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus in adults. • Treatment of chronic discoid lupus erythematosus in adults. Limitations of Use: PLAQUENIL is not recommended for the: • Treatment of complicated malaria. • Treatment of chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine-resistant strains of Plasmodium species. • Treatment of malaria acquired in geographic areas where chloroquine resistance occurs or when the Plasmodium species has not been identified. • Prophylaxis of malaria in geographic areas where chloroquine resistance occurs. • Prevention of relapses of P. vivax or P. ovale because it is not active against the hypnozoite liver stage forms of these parasites. For radical cure of P. vivax and P. ovale infections, concomitant therapy with an 8-aminoquinoline drug is necessary.
From the FDA-approved prescribing information (label dated April 2026). Full labels on DailyMed (opens in a new tab)
Who prescribes it
- Rheumatology 63.8%
- Nurse Practitioners 11.4%
- Internal Medicine 7.6%
- Physician Assistants 7.3%
- Family Medicine 5.4%
- Dermatology 2.0%
- General Practice 0.4%
- Geriatric Medicine 0.4%
- Allergy & Immunology 0.3%
- Pulmonology 0.2%
- Hospitalist 0.2%
- Nephrology (Kidney) 0.1%
All prescribers, by place, name or specialty →
Share of Medicare prescriptions written by each specialty. Select one to list its prescribers.
Trend, 2019–2024
Medicare prescriptions rose 27% from 2019 to 2024.
Biggest change by state since 2019
- Utah +54%
- Oklahoma +53%
- Kentucky +47%
- Idaho +44%
- Kansas +40%
- Montana (smallest change) −2%
- West Virginia (smallest change) +10%
From CMS’s yearly state and national Part D summaries, which count every prescriber, including those CMS leaves out of its per-clinician data (fewer than 11 prescriptions). That is why these totals are higher than the count at the top of this page. Prescriptions include refills.
What it looks like
Pills from 5 makers on file. The same medicine can look different depending on who made it, so check the imprint (the letters and numbers on the pill) with your pharmacist if a refill looks different.
Advanz Pharma (US) Corp.
| Strength | Looks like | Imprint |
|---|---|---|
| 200 mg | white double circle tablet, 12 mm | PLAQUENIL |
Aphena Pharma Solutions - Tennessee, LLC
| Strength | Looks like | Imprint |
|---|---|---|
| 200 mg | white capsule, 13 mm | LLL |
Bryant Ranch Prepack
| Strength | Looks like | Imprint |
|---|---|---|
| 200 mg | white capsule, 13 mm | AC54 |
Cardinal Health 107, LLC
| Strength | Looks like | Imprint |
|---|---|---|
| 200 mg | white oval tablet, 12 mm | AC 384 |
Major Pharmaceuticals
| Strength | Looks like | Imprint |
|---|---|---|
| 200 mg | white oval tablet, 12 mm | AC 384 |
Source: DailyMed (U.S. National Library of Medicine), from each maker’s FDA drug listing. A few makers are shown, not every one. Never take a pill you can’t identify; ask a pharmacist.
Industry payments about this drug
Drug makers reported $14,342 in payments to clinicians that named this drug in 2025 (meals, speaking, consulting and similar).
- Ani Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $14,342
Source: CMS Open Payments, general payments (not research), program year 2025. A payment is not evidence of wrongdoing. Payments by doctor
Recalls and shortages
Not on the FDA drug shortage list.
No FDA-reported recalls since 2020.
Sources: CMS Medicare Part D Prescribers by Provider and Drug (2024; prescriptions include refills, and CMS hides counts under 11 per prescriber); U.S. Food and Drug Administration, openFDA (drug labels, NDC directory, enforcement reports, drug shortages); CMS Open Payments 2025; ClinicalTrials.gov. General information only, not medical advice; not yet reviewed by our medical reviewer.