BACKGROUND: Introduction of new drugs is a dynamic process with a high impact on consumption and expenditure. OBJECTIVE: To analyze the prescription of new drugs and the associated costs in public health care in Catalunya, Spain, in 2002. The analysis also attempts a perspective of consumption in relation to the grade of therapeutic innovation of the new drugs. METHODS: Prescription data on all 86 new drugs licensed for use during 1998-2002 were analyzed, using the prescription item as unit and the cost. RESULTS: Prescription for new drugs in 2002 represented 4% of overall items prescribed and 13% of the cost. The mean new drug item cost was 39, while that of overall drugs was 13. New drug item increase over the previous year was 18.6% compared with 5.2% of the overall drugs, and the proportional cost increased by 25.7% and 9.9%, respectively. Ten new drugs represented 55.1% of the expenditure of this group. Antiasthmatic drugs represented 20.7% of the expenditure on new drugs, angiotensin-receptor blockers represented 18.6%, antiaggregants 9.7%, and nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs 6.9%. New drugs providing significant or modest therapeutic improvement represented 25.6% of overall new drug items and 32.3% of their cost. CONCLUSIONS: New drugs have a mean cost growth rate greater than that of existing drugs, with only a quarter of them offering advantages over existing drugs. More detailed evaluations of new medications are warranted before they can be recommended for general use so that a better distribution of the limited resources available may be made when prescribing drugs that are newly available through prescription.
BACKGROUND: Introduction of new drugs is a dynamic process with a high impact on consumption and expenditure. OBJECTIVE: To analyze the prescription of new drugs and the associated costs in public health care in Catalunya, Spain, in 2002. The analysis also attempts a perspective of consumption in relation to the grade of therapeutic innovation of the new drugs. METHODS: Prescription data on all 86 new drugs licensed for use during 1998-2002 were analyzed, using the prescription item as unit and the cost. RESULTS: Prescription for new drugs in 2002 represented 4% of overall items prescribed and 13% of the cost. The mean new drug item cost was 39, while that of overall drugs was 13. New drug item increase over the previous year was 18.6% compared with 5.2% of the overall drugs, and the proportional cost increased by 25.7% and 9.9%, respectively. Ten new drugs represented 55.1% of the expenditure of this group. Antiasthmatic drugs represented 20.7% of the expenditure on new drugs, angiotensin-receptor blockers represented 18.6%, antiaggregants 9.7%, and nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs 6.9%. New drugs providing significant or modest therapeutic improvement represented 25.6% of overall new drug items and 32.3% of their cost. CONCLUSIONS: New drugs have a mean cost growth rate greater than that of existing drugs, with only a quarter of them offering advantages over existing drugs. More detailed evaluations of new medications are warranted before they can be recommended for general use so that a better distribution of the limited resources available may be made when prescribing drugs that are newly available through prescription.
Authors: H Ohlsson; U Lindblad; T Lithman; B Ericsson; U-G Gerdtham; A Melander; L Råstam; J Merlo Journal: Eur J Clin Pharmacol Date: 2005-10-19 Impact factor: 2.953
Authors: Francisco Javier Garjón; Ana Azparren; Iván Vergara; Borja Azaola; Jose Ramón Loayssa Journal: BMC Health Serv Res Date: 2012-03-08 Impact factor: 2.655