The Impact on Health Outcomes and Healthcare Utilisation of Switching to Generic Medicines Consequent to Reference Pricing: The Case of Lamotrigine in New Zealand

2014 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 537-546 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charon Lessing ◽  
Toni Ashton ◽  
Peter Davis
BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. e049261
Author(s):  
Kimberly Cousins ◽  
Pauline Norris ◽  
Simon Horsburgh ◽  
Alesha Smith ◽  
Shirley Keown ◽  
...  

IntroductionPrescription charges prevent many people from accessing the medicines they need to maintain or improve their health. In New Zealand, where most people pay $5 per prescription item, Māori and Pacific peoples, those living in most deprived areas and those with chronic health conditions are the most likely to report that cost prevents them from accessing medicines.Methods and analysisThis randomised controlled trial (RCT) will evaluate the effect of removing prescription charges on health outcomes and healthcare utilisation patterns of people with low income and high health needs. We will enrol 2000 participants: half will be allocated to the intervention group and we will pay for their prescription charges for 12 months. The other half will receive usual care. The primary outcome will be hospital bed-days. Secondary outcomes will be: all-cause and diabetes/mental health-specific hospitalisations, prescription medicines dispensed (number and type), deaths, emergency department visits and quality of life as measured by the 5-level EQ-5D version. Costs associated with these outcomes will be compared in an economic substudy. A qualitative substudy will also help understand the impact of free prescriptions on participant well-being using in-depth interviews.DiscussionBeing unable to afford prescription medicines is only one of many factors that influence adherence to medicines, but removing prescription charges is relatively simple and in New Zealand would be cheap compared with other policy changes. This RCT will help identify the extent of the impact of a simple intervention to improve access to medicines on health outcomes and health service utilisation.Ethics and disseminationThis study was approved by the Central Health and Disability Ethics Committee (NZ) in July 2019 (19/CEN/33). Findings will be reported in peer-reviewed publications, as well as in professional newsletters, mainstream media and through public meetings.Trial registration numberACTRN12618001486213p.


BMJ Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. e030076
Author(s):  
Tim Stokes ◽  
Carol Atmore ◽  
Erin Penno ◽  
Lauralie Richard ◽  
Emma Wyeth ◽  
...  

IntroductionAchieving effective integration of healthcare across primary, secondary and tertiary care is a key goal of the New Zealand (NZ) Health Strategy. NZ’s regional District Health Board (DHB) groupings are fundamental to delivering integration, bringing the country’s 20 DHBs together into four groups to collaboratively plan, fund and deliver health services within their defined geographical regions. This research aims to examine how, for whom and in what circumstances the regional DHB groupings work to improve health service integration, healthcare quality, health outcomes and health equity, particularly for Māori and Pacific peoples.Methods and analysisThis research uses a mixed methods realist evaluation design. It comprises three linked studies: (1) formulating initial programme theory (IPT) through developing programme logic models to describe regional DHB working; (2) empirically testing IPT through both a qualitative process evaluation of regional DHB working using a case study design; and (3) a quantitative analysis of the impact that DHB regional groupings may have on service integration, health outcomes, health equity and costs. The findings of these three studies will allow refinement of the IPT and should lead to a programme theory which will explain how, for whom and in what circumstances regional DHB groupings improve service integration, health outcomes and health equity in NZ.Ethics and disseminationThe University of Otago Human Ethics Committee has approved this study. The embedding of a clinician researcher within a participating regional DHB grouping has facilitated research coproduction, the research has been jointly conceived and designed and will be jointly evaluated and disseminated by researchers and practitioners. Uptake of the research findings by other key groups including policymakers, Māori providers and communities and Pacific providers and communities will be supported through key strategic relationships and dissemination activities. Academic dissemination will occur through publication and conference presentations.


2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 254-261
Author(s):  
Stella Samoborec ◽  
Pamela Simpson ◽  
Behrooz Hassani-Mahmooei ◽  
Rasa Ruseckaite ◽  
Melita Giummarra ◽  
...  

IntroductionUnderstanding the impact of comorbidity on health outcomes is important given that comorbidities can affect survival, morbidity, service delivery costs and healthcare utilisation. However, little is known about the types of comorbidities affecting specific health outcomes after minor to moderate road trauma.MethodsThis study involved 1574 participants who claimed injury compensation following transport-related injury. Cross sectional data were collected. Health outcomes were assessed using the EQ-5D-3L specific domains and summary score. Twelve self-reported pre-existing chronic conditions were assessed using a multivariate logistic regression, adjusting for demographic and injury characteristics.ResultsOut of 1574 participants, only 17 (1%) participants reported no pre-existing comorbidities, 72% reported one, 13% reported two and 14% reported three or more comorbidities. Hypertension (15%), depression (14%) and anxiety (14%) were the most commonly reported comorbidities, followed by arthritis (13%), chronic pain (11%) and asthma (11%). Participants with a history of arthritis (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 1.90, 95% CI 1.24 to 2.91); chronic back pain (AOR 1.59, 95% CI, 1.04 to 2.43); other chronic pain (AOR 2.73, 95% CI 1.42 to 4.24); depression (AOR 2.55, 95% CI 1.60 to 4.05) and anxiety (AOR 2.08, 95% CI 1.32 to 3.26) were at increased risk of poorer health outcomes, after controlling for age, gender, type of injury and time since injury.ConclusionThis study found that comorbidities such as arthritis, chronic back pain, other chronic pain, depression and anxiety significantly increase the odds of poorer health postinjury, regardless of the time since injury. Regular screening of comorbid conditions may help identify people likely to have poorer outcomes, thereby enabling the implementation of interventions to optimise health despite the presence of comorbidities.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomas Tesar ◽  
Peter Golias ◽  
Lucia Masarykova ◽  
Paweł Kawalec ◽  
András Inotai

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of selected legislative initiatives and their implementation for off-patent medicinal products in Slovakia compared with the rest of the Visegrád Group (V4 countries).Methods: We analyzed the development of applications for the reimbursement of generic and biosimilar drugs. Particular emphasis was placed on a) the availability and penetration of biosimilars from 2006 to 2020 in Slovakia, b) a comparative analysis of biosimilars in V4 countries based on the national reimbursement lists of medicinal products for August 2021. Data relating to the sales of generic and biosimilar medicines in Czechia, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia were based on the IQVIA MIDAS MAT July 2021.Results: The number of applications for the reimbursement of generic drugs decreased from 296 in 2016 to 165 in 2020. In financial terms, the sales of generic medicines in Slovakia increased from 21.7% in 2015 to 22.3% in 2020. Over the same period, the sales of generic drugs in Poland fell from 40.4% in 2015 to 35.0% in 2020, from 26.2 to 22.1% in Hungary, and from 29.6 to 20.4% in Czechia. When considering the 66 biosimilars registered by the European Medicines Agency 38 drugs (58%) were available on the Slovak market as of August 1, 2021; this compared to 32 drugs (48%) in Poland, 38 drugs (58%) in Hungary, and 40 drugs (61%) in Czechia. In financial terms, the sales of biosimilars in Slovakia increased from 0.94% in 2015 to 2.00% in 2020. Over the same period, the sales of biosimilars in Poland increased from 0.59% in 2015 to 1.29% in 2020, from 0.72 to 2.23% in Hungary, and from 0.76 to 2.15% in Czechia.Conclusion: To intensify the use of generic and biosimilar medicines, we suggest the comprehensive re-evaluation of combinations of the three-threshold entry, the amount of mandatory price reductions, and external reference pricing requirements (as the average of the three lowest prices among the official prices of a medicinal product in other Member States) for generic and biosimilar drugs. We also suggest cancellation of the exception from the fixed co-payment of the insured.


Author(s):  
Xavier Giné ◽  
Salma Khalid ◽  
Mansuri Ghazala

This chapter uses a randomized community development programme in rural Pakistan to assess the impact of citizen engagement on public service delivery and maternal and child health outcomes. The programme had a strong emphasis on organizing women, who also identified health services as a development priority at baseline. At midline, we find that the mobilization effort alone had a significant impact on the performance of village-based health providers. We detect economically large improvements in pregnancy and well-baby visits by female health workers, as well as increased utilization of pre- and post-natal care by pregnant women. In contrast, the quality of supra-village health services did not improve, underscoring the importance of community enforcement and monitoring capacity for improving service delivery.


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