Medication purchasing behaviour of the population: new survey promises important insights
The Lithuanians spend a significant proportion of their money on various medicines. How can we encourage the public to use medicines rationally? How to assess the impact of medicine prices on the population expenditure and the impact of prices on the availability of medicines? In order to find answers to these questions, the State Data Agency, as assigned by the Government, is carrying out a new statistical survey.
According to the data of the State Data Agency, in 2022, household expenditure on medical goods amounted to EUR 734 million. This is a significant amount, which makes up 15 per cent of total expenditure on healthcare.
“It is understandable why the Government has drawn attention to this area – the population expenditure on medicines and medical goods is high at the EU level as well. However, in order to make rational decisions at the state level, it is necessary to have detailed data on medication purchasing behaviour of the population. Currently, there is a lack of detailed information about the market for medicines and medical goods,” notes Dr. Jūratė Petrauskienė, Director General of the Agency.
Existing data are insufficient
The Agency have been already collecting data on the population’s expenditure on medical goods – prescription medicines (i.e. those prescribed by a doctor), medicines and non-durable medical goods purchased at the patient’s own discretion. However, data on the population’s expenditure on medicines are not collected separately, only an aggregate number is obtained from pharmacies – the amount spent by a resident on all these medical goods.
“The existing statistical survey is not sufficient to provide a complete picture of what medicines or medical goods people buy in pharmacies, how much they spend on these goods, and whether medicines are used rationally. We hope for successful cooperation with pharmacies in collecting the necessary data from them, and the survey results will serve as guidelines for the state institutions in decision-making in this area”, says Dr. Jūratė Petrauskienė.
In its Resolution, the Government states that the need for the new statistical survey is based on the aim to monitor more effectively the sales (dispensing) of medicinal products and pharmaceutical goods in pharmacies and changes in prices of medicinal products, and to ensure statistically-informed policy-making in the pharmaceutical sector.
The Resolution of the Government instructs pharmacies to submit data to the Agency from 1 January 2024 in accordance with the approved updated list of statistical indicators and procedure.
Additional benefits of the survey
The experts at the State Data Agency say that the survey based on data provided by pharmacies can shed light on medication purchasing habits of the population in unexpected ways.
Until now, the purchasing behaviour of the population has been revealed by the Health Survey carried out every five years, during which 5,000 respondents were interviewed. “This was the population’s own opinion about their health, which of course does not necessarily reflect their actual health status, and such surveys are very expensive. The current need is to have actual, objective, and not subjective data on a daily basis, and this will be a major breakthrough,” say the Agency’s experts.
According to them, the new survey will provide a new perspective on a wide range of aspects. “There are situations when a doctor prescribes medicine and instructs to take it but the person does not purchase it – so we could also find out how people follow the doctor’s recommendations.” It may be that one person’s medicine basket contains medicines that are incompatible with each other. The dynamics of purchasing contraceptives would allow us to predict certain demographic changes. The market for hygiene and cosmetics could be analysed from new perspectives because these products are also sold in pharmacies”, the Agency’s experts provide examples.
Even seasonal illnesses and impending epidemics are likely to be predicted several days in advance with the detailed data from the new survey: mass purchases of certain medicines or medical supplies by the population can help predict the health situation more accurately.
Price changes are also of great importance: the public will have a clearer picture of which medicines are getting cheaper and which are getting more expensive, which will allow a more rational choice of the composition of the basket of goods purchased at the pharmacy.
Pharmacies will not face additional burden
The Agency’s experts assure that the new statistical survey will not impose an additional burden on pharmacies because the data will be transferred from one database to another.
“The data collected in the pharmacy information systems will be provided in an automated manner. On the contrary, the burden will be reduced by taking advantage of digital tools, without increasing the workload for any pharmacist.”
The new survey will use data from five major pharmacy chains – the Agency estimates that the turnover of medicines, medical supplies and other goods sold in pharmacies generated by these pharmacies accounts for 80 per cent of total turnover of such goods in Lithuania.
The Agency points out that the current survey on pharmacy prices is not sufficient for a comprehensive survey that would collect data on the costs incurred by the population not only for medicines but also for other goods sold in pharmacies. Currently, state institutions have at their disposal data on prescription medicines (including reimbursable pharmaceutical products) dispensed (sold) by dispensing pharmacies via electronic prescriptions as well as reimbursable medical assistance supplies.
However, in order to carry out proper statistical surveys on the sales (dispensing) of medicinal products and pharmaceutical goods in pharmacies and on the changes in prices of medicinal products, it is important to obtain additional information from dispensing pharmacies on non-prescription medicinal products, prescription non-reimbursable medicinal products sold via paper prescriptions, as well as on sales of other pharmaceutical goods, including food supplements.