Question:
Perform a systematic review on factors that affect pharmaceutical spending.
Answer:
Recent studies have shown that the demand for health services has increased in an efficient manner as a result of changes in the demographics of the population, the emergence of new diseases, and differences in the provision of health care in different populations.
These changes have led to technological and structural changes in the health care system (Mousnad Shafie & Ibrahim 2014).
The pharmaceutical industry has played a significant role in improving the health of a community.
But, the increase in pharmaceutical spending has caused economic problems.
It is therefore important to develop effective strategies to address the problem of rising pharmaceutical expenditure and to meet the health care demand in an efficient manner (Schumock, et al. 2016).
This study will examine the causes of the increase in pharmaceutical spending.
The study could identify the causes and help develop strategies to reduce the cost of pharmaceuticals.
Search Strategy
The systematic review was used to identify potential causes of the increased expenditure on pharmaceuticals.
To reach the conclusion of systematic review, the study identified relevant papers from reliable databases and analyzed evidence from previous literatures.
Data collection:
Data sources like Google scholar, MEDLINE and CINAHL have been used to provide data about the factors that contributed to the increase in pharmaceutical spending.
Relevant literatures from 2012-2018 were reviewed. Literatures that are based on English language were chosen for systematic review.
To identify relevant literatures, key terms were used, such as factors that affect pharmaceutical expenditures, rising pharmaceutical costs, trends in pharmaceutical expenditures and hospital cost for pharmaceutical spending.
Criteria for inclusion or exclusion:
The systematic review will consider articles that discuss the possible factors that contributed to an increase in pharmaceutical expenditure, trends in drug expenditure, or the health care costs for pharmaceutical needs.
To understand the context and use the evidence to support the conclusion of the systematic overview, only full text articles were used in the study.
The systematic review has been limited to articles published in English.
To understand current economic issues in the pharmaceutical industry, we have selected articles published between 2012 and 2018.
During data collection, characteristics such as study design and sample size, methodology, representation of results, and presentation of result were taken into consideration.
Literature were chosen based upon their evidence level.
Only 4 articles out of 35 were found to meet the inclusion criteria.
The systematic review included 2 evidence-based systematic reviews with evidence level I, and 3 retrospective studies with Evidence Level VII.
Flow Chart
Evidence on the topic:
Globally, the demand for quality health services has increased.
The structure and technology of the health care system have been affected by an increased demand.
Changes in demography, the appearance of new diseases, and differences in health care delivery are the main causes of an increase in demand for health services (Mousnad Shafie & Ibrahim 2014).
It has been shown that pharmaceuticals play an important role in meeting the demands for health care services.
According to Vogler, Zimmermann & Habl (2013), 55% of global trade in health care services has been contributed by pharmaceuticals.
The pharmaceutical sector has seen a dramatic increase in its expenditures over the past decade, which is causing rising health costs.
Many countries are now facing problems in the pharmaceutical sector (Mousnad Shafie & Ibrahim 2014).
The pharmaceutical sector has long chains that include discovery of new products, regulations and policies, marketing, and consumer behavior.
Multiple factors can affect pharmaceutical spending (Schumock and colleagues, 2016).
It was found that prescription sales have increased by 11.7% and prescription expenditure by 10.7% respectively, while prescription spending has increased by 11- 13%. Thus, overall hospital and clinical health costs have increased by 10-17% (Vogler & Habl 2013, 2013).
The price increase of certain medications or drugs is one of the factors that could have contributed to the rise in pharmaceutical spending (Schumock and al., 2016).
It was possible to measure the change in price of drugs over time and also evaluate differences in trends.
The results showed that the increase in price of medicines has led to an 8.4% increase in pharmaceutical sector expenditures (Vogler, Zimmermann & Habl 2013, 2013).
The pressure on the pharmaceutical industry has been increasing because of the rising demand for health care.
To meet the needs of the population, changes were made to the amount or volume of drug and drug therapy (Mousnad Shafie & Ibrahim 2014).
The price of drugs increases with increasing drug therapy and quantity.
Increased pharmaceutical spending can also be caused by changes in drug quantity and treatment (Maniadakis, et al. 2016, 2016).
The need to introduce new medications or drugs has increased due to the emergence of new diseases.
According to Schump et. al. (2016), investing in new drugs can also lead to economic problems in the pharmaceutical industry.
2.7% of the expenditure was due to new drugs (Vogler & Zimmermann & Habl 2013, 2013).
These factors have also influenced policy makers, and increased spending has become a major concern for policy makers in health policy.
The cost of healthcare is also affected by an increase in pharmaceutical spending (Aljunid and Ali Jadoo 2018, 2018).
Conclusion from the Evidence:
The evidence suggests that there are many factors responsible for the rise in pharmaceutical spending.
Among the most important are the increase in price of existing drugs and drugs, changes to the quantity or quality of drugs, changes to drug therapies, and investments in new drugs.
These factors, in addition to increasing pharmaceutical spendings, also have an impact on overall health care costs. Policy makers are also concerned about the economic state of the pharmaceutical sector.
Study Objective from the Evidence
The evidence is the study objective.
To gain knowledge about the possible factors that could lead to an increase in pharmaceutical spending.
Reduce pharmaceutical spending by implementing strategies.
Lower the total hospital cost by reducing pharmaceutical spending.
Encourage your policy maker to consider the trends and focus on less pharmaceutical spending.
Additional Research:
The study identified the main factors contributing to increased pharmaceutical spending in an efficient manner. Therefore, more research is needed to identify effective interventions and reduce pharmaceutical spending.
It could help reduce overall health care costs and allow the global population to have access to affordable health services.
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American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy. ajhp160205.
Understanding the components and implications of pharmaceutical spending-overview of European pharmaceutical policies that influence expenditure.
GaBi J. 2(3), 178-87.