Pharmaceutical insurance and the demand for prescription pharmaceuticals in Västerbotten, Sweden

Abstract

Aims: The aim of this paper is to analyze the impact of pharmaceutical insurance on the demand for prescription pharmaceuticals in the county of Västerbotten, Sweden. As the patients do not bear the full marginal costs of the pharmaceuticals they consume when pharmaceutical insurance systems are present, this could induce patients to over-consume pharmaceutical treatments.

Methods: Data covering all prescription pharmaceuticals sold in the county of Västerbotten, Sweden during the year 2001 have been provided by the local county council. Data include information concerning the gender and age of the patient, the number of defined daily doses, total cost, and the patient's co-payment for the prescription. The hypothesis that patients will consume more (or perhaps more expensive) pharmaceuticals when there is pharmaceutical insurance is tested by means of regression analysis.

Results: The results show that both the quantities dispensed and the price of the pharmaceuticals consumed increase when the pharmaceutical insurance system pays part of the total cost of the pharmaceuticals consumed.

Conclusions: The findings suggest that introducing a small patient co-payment for all prescriptions should be an effective measure to decrease pharmaceutical consumption.