Italians spend more 1 billion euros to consume a branded drug when they could consume an equivalent drug (at no cost to the patient).
L’AIFA (Italian Medicines Agency) defines equivalent drugs as: “medicinal products having the same qualitative composition, same amount of active ingredient, same pharmaceutical form, same route of administration, same release method and identical number of dosage units, of a specialty whose active ingredient is no longer covered by patent“
Geographically speaking in our country we spend more on branded drugs in the Center- Sud. Spending is more limited in the North.
There are brand-name drugs (also expensive) whose price is 10 times that of the equivalent!
E’ It is therefore important for Italian families to obtain good information from doctors and pharmacists to avoid unnecessary expenses.
Use of drugs in Italy
In the last National Report 2022 “The use of drugs in Italy”, created by the National Observatory on the use of Medicines (OsMed) of AIFA, it was reiterated that:
“In 2022 thenational pharmaceutical spending total (public and private) totaled34,1 billion of euros, up 6,0% compared to 2021. More than 6 citizens on 10 have received at least one drug prescription, with growth in per capita spending and consumption as age increases. Particularly, the population with more than 64 years has absorbed over the60% of spending and doses”.
Alex Gaetani
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Sources:
OsMed National Report 2022 on the use of drugs in Italy