Norway's pivotal role in regulatory health economics and pharmaceutical cost containment--what can other countries learn?

With an increasing trend in health care consumption--together with the introduction of an increasing number of new medical technologies-- governments, insurance companies and other third party payers seek new ways of limiting increases in consumption, as well as limiting the use of new medical technologies to the most efficient ones (clinically, economically). One particular area of focus in this context is the pharmaceutical sector, where the innovational rate of new technologies (drugs) has been high. One of the forerunners in the areas of health care cost containment and regulatory health economics is Norway. This country has succeeded in keeping drug prices and drug consumption at moderate levels, as well as keeping the number of new drugs to a relatively modest level. This study describes the Norwegian drug regulatory process, the Norwegian drug market, the Norwegian cost-containment policies and future regulatory perspectives. For many European countries and in North America, where stricter price and reimbursement regulations are considered, the Norwegian drug regulatory process presents an interesting example of how a strict regulatory environment may affect the availability of drugs, as well as drug prices, drug reimbursement and drug consumption.