The National Report on the use of medicines was presented today at AIFA, which this year also offers a detailed description of pharmaceutical assistance in Italy, photographing an increase compared to 2016 equal to 4,3% for consumption and 1,2% for total national pharmaceutical spending.
"It is important to underline the role of the National Health Service," said Melazzini, "which repaid 75% of pharmaceutical spending. In particular, the territorial expenditure charged to the NHS is equal to 12.909 millions of euro and is decreasing compared to the previous year (-6,5%), just as it decreased that for medicines purchased by public health facilities (-0,7% ), equal to 12,1 billion euros ".
"From the consumption point of view," the AIFA continued, "the data show that every Italian took on average 1,7 daily doses of the drug. Among the regions, Emilia Romagna (317,6 DDD 1000 ab die) and Lombardy (98,2 DDD 1000 ab die) recorded respectively the highest and lowest levels of consumption, while the highest expenditure values were found in Sardinia (239,64 euro per capita), Puglia (227,13 euro per capita), Campania (223,34 euro per capita) and lower ones in Valle d'Aosta (139,40 euro per capita), in the Autonomous Province of Trento (154,94 euro per capita) and in Lombardy (165,79 euro per capita) ".
"Medicines for the cardiovascular system are confirmed to be the category most consumed by Italians, followed by drugs of the gastrointestinal tract and metabolism, by blood and hematopoietic drugs, by drugs for the Central Nervous System and those for the respiratory system" , underlined the Director General of AIFA Mario Melazzini. "In terms of impact on public pharmaceutical spending, antineoplastic and immunomodulatory drugs are in first place (5.064 million euros), followed by cardiovascular drugs (3.548 million euros)".
"Also significant are the data on expired patent medicines, which represent the 79,4% of the doses of drugs consumed every day and the 59% of the agreed spending, and those on the increase in the use of biosimilars, especially epoetins (+ 65,1% compared to 2016) and somatropin (+ 101,8%), with positive effects on spending ".