Doctors prescribe more medication

In Germany, more and more medicines are prescribed. In the past year, pharmaceutical spending rose to 40 billion euros. The reason for the increase was, above all, a decline in discounts in the pharmaceutical industry.

Medicines worth 40 billion euros
According to the Techniker Krankenkasse (TK), the physicians in Germany last year prescribed medicines worth almost 40 billion euros. According to a report by the dpa news agency, the health insurance fund said that this corresponds to an increase of six percent, referring to statistics from the Central Association of Statutory Health Insurance (GKV). The reason for the increase in costs was, according to the figures, above all a decline in discounts for the pharmaceutical industry from € 3.6 billion to € 2.5 billion. The reduction of the manufacturer discount is regulated by law.

Number of prescribed packs rose only slightly
By contrast, the number of packs ordered increased by only 0.5 percent, from 732.5 to 736 million. This was 40 billion daily doses, in 2013 it was 39.7 billion. TK called for further action to curb the increase in drug sales. The fund itself has already responded and conclude discount agreements with many companies. The Kaufmännische Krankenkasse (KKH) had already given an alarm at the beginning of the year in view of the increase in pharmaceutical expenses. The box office also made the reduced 2014 legal manufacturer discount but above all the high prices of original preparations for it.

Two billion euros additional payment
The pharmaceutical association Pro Generika pointed out that in 2014 patients had to pay two billion euros out of their own pocket for medicines. The association said in Berlin that this trend has been going on for years. The restrictive fixed-amount policy of the GKV is one reason for this. This leaves manufacturers no scope for a price below the copayment limit. A fixed amount indicates the maximum amount of reimbursement paid by the SHI for a drug. The amount of the fixed amounts comes every year again to the test.

Increase in costs due to certain medicines
As reported by the "Deutsche Ärzteblatt" online, according to figures from the statistics service provider Insight Health 2014, the ten top-selling drugs accounted for more than 10 percent of total sales in pharmacies. This is more than 400 million euros more than in the previous year. In particular, the cause of this strong increase is the successful treatment of hepatitis C. According to Insight Health, viral statins, immunosuppressants and antithrombotic drugs were the top-selling market segments in the pharmacy market last year. (Ad)

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