Cost-Containment Mechanisms for Public Pharmaceutical Spending

Abstract

Pharmaceutical spending continues to ascend. Very expensive pharmaceutical products have been introduced on the market in recent years, thus increasing decision makers’ concerns regarding the patient access to innovative treatments, and sustainability of their reimbursement systems. Despite the multitude of tools for containing public pharmaceutical spending, solutions have to take into account many factors in order to ensure both equitable access for consumers, and an acceptable budgetary balance. In Romania, public expenditures for compensated drugs were between 15% up to 25% of the National Social Health Insurance Fund during las decade, while medicines reached 26% of total health expenditures (according to OECD data). In order to cover the patient needs and face considerable challenges and pressure of pharmaceutic industry, comprehensive knowledge and rationally selection of those tools are needed to limit public pharmaceutical spending within available funds without obstructing the access to innovation.