In 2022, total national pharmaceutical expenditure (public and private) amounted to 34,1 billion euros, an increase of 6,0% compared to 2021. More than 6 out of 10 citizens received at least one drug prescription, with a growth in per capita expenditure and consumption with increasing age. In particular, the population over 64 years of age absorbed more than 60% of the expenditure and doses. The Northern Regions recorded a lower prevalence (63,1%) than the Center (68,4%) and Southern Italy (69,5%).
These are some of the data that emerge from the 2022 National Report "The use of drugs in Italy", created by the National Observatory on the use of medicines (OsMed) of AIFA. Now in its twenty-third edition, thanks to the availability of multiple information systems and the collaboration of numerous other institutions, the Report provides an increasingly complete and critical description of pharmaceutical assistance in Italy, in the territorial and hospital settings, both at the expense of the National Health Service ( SSN) and through private purchase by the citizen.
In this edition, greater emphasis has been given to the section dedicated to the purchase of class C and C-NN drugs by public health structures and to the analysis of direct and on behalf distribution, further investigating the heterogeneity at the regional level in the choice of delivery channels.
In the chapter dedicated to international comparisons, the levels of expenditure and consumption of various therapeutic categories recorded in Italy were compared with those of nine other European countries, for a time trend over the last four years.
Among the novelties of this edition, the introduction of a new section dedicated to the analysis of the potential environmental impact of a series of active ingredients with high use or high risk of environmental toxicity.