Analysis of public procurement of medicines for the treatment of patients with epilepsy

Abstract

Aim. To analyze public procurement of medicines for the treatment of patients with epilepsy using methods of clinical and economic analysis.Materials and methods. For the study, the official data of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine for 2014-2018 concerning public procurement of antiepileptic drugs were used. The total amount of public procurement of medicines for all trade names was determined, and the sums of purchases were grouped by international nonproprietary names. To conduct the analysis of public procurement of antiepileptic drugs, ABC and VEN analyses were performed. Based on the results of the integrated ABC / VEN analysis the volumes of procurement costs were ranked taking into account the requirements of the regulatory framework providing medical and pharmaceutical care for patients with epilepsy.Results. According to the results of the study it was found that during 2014-2018 the average growth rate of public procurement of antiepileptic drugs in UAH equivalent was 136 %, and in dollar equivalent – 110 %. It was determined that in 2018 the volume of expenditures per patient for the purchase of antiepileptic drugs in UAH equivalent increased by 305 % compared to 2014. However, the volume of expenditures in terms of US dollars in 2018 increased only by 22 % compared to 2014. It is due to the fact that in 2014 there were crisis processes at the financial market of Ukraine, which led to an increase in the price of medicines and had a direct impact on the volume of expenses for the purchase of medicines. It has been proven that during 2014-2018 in the volume of public procurement there is a negative trend of prevalence of antiepileptic drugs of foreign manufacture. Thus, the ratio of the volume of costs for the purchase of foreign drugs to domestic ones amounted to 87 % to 13 %, respectively. The analysis of public procurement by the lines of therapy determined that the main share of the expenses belonged to the first-line pharmacotherapy drugs. The ABC analysis showed that the total government spending on the purchase of antiepileptic drugs had uneven dynamics. The results of the VEN analysis indicated that any antiepileptic drugs for INN were not assigned to the category “N”. According to the results of the integrated ABC / VEN analysis it was found that the share of expenses from group A / V in the total amount of the antiepileptic drugs purchased ranged from 70.1 % (2014) to 72.8 % (2018).Conclusions. The results of the study can be used in the development of scientific and applied approaches to the organization of effective financing of pharmaceutical care in Ukraine.