Economic evaluation of drug prescription monitoring systems in the extra-hospital environment.

Drugs expenditure accounts for a significant and rising share of public health expenditure (from 14% in 1980 it has now reached 17% approximately). Many efforts have been made to contain its expansion through tickets (co-payments), formularies, price policies, etc., but overall results have been unsatisfactory. The main cause for this failure may be found in the approach adopted, virtually excluding the evaluation of rational use of drugs. Economic evaluation of drug prescription, comparing cost per DDD, assessing both cost/effectiveness ratios and the monitoring system's efficiency, may contribute to a better control of drug expenditure.