Department of Global Health and Population, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
Health Policy. 2009 Sep;92(1):73-8. doi: 10.1016/j.healthpol.2009.03.003. Epub 2009 Apr 1.
This study presents a comparison of medical material prices, discusses why differences exist, and examines methods for comparing prices.
Market prices for drug-eluting stents (DES), non-drug-eluting stents (non-DES), and percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) catheters were collected from five countries: the United States, Japan, Korea, Turkey, and Thailand. To compare prices, three adjustment methods were used: currency exchange rates, purchasing power parity (PPP), and gross domestic product (GDP) per capita.
The ratios of medical material prices compared with those in the United States were higher in Japan (from 1.4 for DES to 5.0 for PTCA catheters) and Korea (from 1.2 for DES to 4.0 for PTCA catheters), and lower in Turkey (from 0.8 for non-DES to 1.4 for DES) and Thailand (from 0.5 for non-DES to 1.3 for PTCA catheters). The PPP-adjusted ratios changed slightly for Japan, Korea, and Turkey. When the prices were adjusted by GDP per capita, the ratios were much higher.
Comparing prices using currency exchange rates or PPP is applicable only between countries with stable economic relations; adjustment by GDP per capita reflects the actual burden. Further study is needed to fully elucidate the factors influencing the global medical material market.
本研究比较了医疗材料价格，探讨了价格存在差异的原因，并考察了比较价格的方法。
从美国、日本、韩国、土耳其和泰国五个国家收集药物洗脱支架（DES）、非药物洗脱支架（non-DES）和经皮冠状动脉成形术（PTCA）导管的市场价格。为了比较价格，使用了三种调整方法：货币汇率、购买力平价（PPP）和人均国内生产总值（GDP）。
与美国相比，日本（DES 为 1.4 倍，PTCA 导管为 5.0 倍）和韩国（DES 为 1.2 倍，PTCA 导管为 4.0 倍）的医疗材料价格比率较高，土耳其（non-DES 为 0.8 倍，DES 为 1.4 倍）和泰国（non-DES 为 0.5 倍，PTCA 导管为 1.3 倍）的价格比率较低。日本、韩国和土耳其的 PPP 调整后的比率略有变化。当按人均 GDP 调整价格时，比率要高得多。
仅在经济关系稳定的国家之间使用货币汇率或 PPP 进行价格比较是可行的；按人均 GDP 调整反映了实际负担。需要进一步研究以充分阐明影响全球医疗材料市场的因素。
