[Prescription of generic drugs in the health area of Zamora. Benefits for the users and the National Health Service].

OBJECTIVE

To know the highest possible saving in pharmaceutical expenditures for the active user and for the National Health System (NHS), by replacing trademark specialties of Social Security prescriptions in 1995 by other generic medicines.

DESIGN

Economic evaluation study for minimizing cost.

SETTING

Health Area of Zamora, 1995.

MEASURES AND MAIN RESULTS

32 active components were selected (58 presentations and 24 therapeutic groups) marketed under generic denomination that were equivalent to specialties with identical composition-presentation and more expensive. For all those medicines that include the 32 active components, the following data were obtained from the pharmacy Management Computer System (SIFAR in Spanish): number of containers, amount and percentage prescribed to pensioners and active population, breaking down the amount of actives for the Health System and for the user. Out of the 153,885 dispensed containers analyzed in the study, 2.83% belong to those dispensed under generic denomination. The estimated possible saving could have been about 56,991,515 PTAs corresponding to 85.5% of pensioners and 14.5 of the active population. The saving for active users could have reached 4,387,523 PTAs.

CONCLUSIONS

The prescription of generic medicines allows us to improve the efficiency of the NHS because the saving generated may positively have an effect on the system itself without loosing quality or freedom in the prescription.