23rd National Report on the Use of Medicines in Italy
© Italian Medicines Agency (AIFA)
The Italian Medicines Agency (AIFA) has published the 23rd National Report on the Use of Medicines in Italy.
The Report analyses pharmaceutical use and spending data in Italy in 2022 by using the various information flows available, which allow to obtain a comprehensive picture of pharmaceutical care in the outpatient and hospital settings, both when costs are borne by the National Health Service (NHS) and when they are borne by citizens through private purchases. It provides an overview on medication use by class age and gender and insights on special populations, in particular paediatric patients and the elderly. The spending and consumption data were provided by the different ATC levels and by therapeutic category, at National Level and by Italian Regions.
The Report also includes main figures on AIFA Monitoring Registries, together with the financial impact resulting from the implementation of Managed Entry Agreements.
In the chapter on international comparison, time trends in spending and consumption of different therapeutic categories in 9 European countries over the past 4 years were studied. The price comparison analysis was further deepened by disaggregating drugs by patent coverage, and evaluating the different therapeutic categories and reimbursability classes.
Given the importance of new therapeutic entities, both in terms of expected benefits and in terms of expenditure governance, a specific section on expenditure trends was provided to monitor the impact on NHS pharmaceutical spending of new therapeutic entities. Moreover, a specific section has been dedicated to the expenditure analysis of orphan drugs.
Finally, given the recognized importance of environmental issues, a new section has been introduced in order to analyse the potential environmental impact of a number of active substances with high use or high risk of environmental toxicity. The main objective of this section is to provide an overview in order to inform and raise awareness among the public, and health care professionals, of the emerging issue on the impact that drugs have on the environment.
