Eur J Public Health. 2003 Sep;13(3 Suppl):95-100. doi: 10.1093/eurpub/13.suppl_1.95.
There is uncertainty about the level of utilization and expenditure for medicines in the European Union (EU), making assessment of their impact on public health difficult. Our aim is to develop indicators to monitor price, expenditure and utilization of medicinal products in the EU, so as to facilitate comparisons.
There are four major tasks. Task 1: To catalogue data sources and available data in each EU Member State. Task 2: To assess the reliability and comparability of data among the EU Member States by ATC/DDD on country coverage, reimbursement, prescriptions, price category (e.g. wholesale, hospital, retail) and private versus public spending. Task 3: To develop Standard Operating Procedures for data management and to define clearly the proposed indicators in terms of objective, definition, description, rationale, and data collection. Task 4: To pool, compare and report the validated data according to the established indicators, using cardiovascular medicines as an example.
Preliminary results from Tasks 1 and 2 are available and demonstrate the methodological difficulties in comparing data from different countries. Multiple data sources must be used. These cover different populations, and refer to different prices or costs. Nevertheless, useful data can be derived, illustrated by the example of lipid lowering medicines. The data shows that only five products are commonly available in all countries. Even when a medicine is available in all countries, there may be substantial differences in packages, which can hinder comparison. Data on utilization of statins shows high usage in Scandinavian countries and least in Italy.
The preliminary results of EURO-MED-STAT show wide differences in availability, and use of medicines across Europe that may have substantial implications for public health.
欧盟（EU）药品的使用水平和支出情况存在不确定性，这使得评估其对公共卫生的影响变得困难。我们的目标是制定指标，以监测欧盟药品的价格、支出和使用情况，以便于进行比较。
有四项主要任务。任务1：对每个欧盟成员国的数据来源和可用数据进行编目。任务2：通过解剖学治疗学分类系统/限定日剂量（ATC/DDD），从国家覆盖范围、报销、处方、价格类别（如批发、医院、零售）以及私人与公共支出等方面，评估欧盟成员国之间数据的可靠性和可比性。任务3：制定数据管理标准操作程序，并根据目标、定义、描述、基本原理和数据收集等方面明确拟议的指标。任务4：以心血管药物为例，根据既定指标汇总、比较和报告经过验证的数据。
任务1和任务2的初步结果已经得出，显示了比较不同国家数据时存在的方法学困难。必须使用多个数据来源。这些数据涵盖不同人群，涉及不同价格或成本。尽管如此，仍可得出有用的数据，以降脂药物为例进行说明。数据显示，所有国家普遍可用的产品只有五种。即使一种药物在所有国家都有，但包装可能存在很大差异，这可能会妨碍比较。他汀类药物的使用数据显示，斯堪的纳维亚国家的使用率较高，而意大利最低。
EURO-MED-STAT的初步结果表明，欧洲各国药品的可及性和使用情况存在很大差异，这可能对公共卫生产生重大影响。
