Investigating the Economic Impacts of New Public Pharmaceutical Policies in Greece

Abstract

Objectives: To define and develop risk -and more specifically market access riskas a framework towards understanding and evaluating stability in market access systems at an individual country level. MethOds: We created a combination model of rating quantitative and qualitative variables which affect a country's ability and willingness to pay for new drugs. The criterion for selection of variables is based on relevance, availability and uniformity in our model. We included a total of 42 variables categorised under three verticals -quantitative, qualitative and measures of stability. In order to derive a non-recursive model of ratings, we fit the regression equation for quantitative and qualitative variables as: Y(1) = α i + ∑β i *X i + ε (Equation 1.1) Y(2) = α j + ∑β j *X j + ε (Equation 1.2) where Y(1) and Y(2) are the market access risk ratings for quantitative and qualitative variables, X i and X j are vectors of independent quantitative and qualitative variables, and ε is the error term. The final score was derived by taking the geometric mean of the two ratings together with ratings for the measures of stability and is described as below: Total Risk Score = √Y(1)^2* Weight of Y(1) + Y(2)^2*Weight of Y(2) + Risk Rating (Measures of Stability)^2*Weight of (Measures of Stability). Results: We decided to aggregate risk scores from different countries into defined clusters -such as BRICS

Commentary: Patient Cost Sharing and Medical Expenditures for the Elderly

“…There are findings from Greece where major increases in patient co-payments were coupled with a reduction in public services in areas such as infection and mental health. This national case also adds to the literature (Ayuso-Mateos et al, 2013 ; Siskou et al, 2013 ; Kentikelenis et al, 2014 ). However, the impact of increased co-payments on health is still subject to ongoing debate (Mann et al, 2014 ).…”

Drug Policy in Greece

“…In cases when the retail price is lower than the reference price, up to 50% of the difference is deducted from the co-insurance contribution. Also, a fixed fee of €1 per prescription is being paid directly by patients since 2014 [7,8].…”

Cultivating the Installed Base: The Introduction of e-Prescription in Greece

“…favouring the use of generic medicines via substance-based prescribing and introducing caps per prescribing doctor. Additional measures not related to e-prescription include a new reference pricing model that takes into account the three EU countries with lowest prices, and the renegotiation and reduction of pharmacy and wholesaler margins on reimbursed drugs (OECD 2013a;Siskou et al 2014; Deloitte Centre for Health Solutions 2013). The sense of crisis certainly facilitated change nevertheless, this by itself is not sufficient.…”