Psychiatria pre prax 6/2007

CONSUMPTION OF ANTIPSYCHOTICS IN SLOVAKIA OVER THE PERIOD 1996 – 2006

In 2006, more than 1.2 mil. packs of antipsychotics of 27 different brands were prescribed, for which 1.2 bil. SKK was paid by the health insurance companies and patients. 770 mil. SKK of this amount went to manufacturers and the rest was divided among distributors, pharmacies and the state via VAT. The small difference between the number of molecules and the number of brands – 27 vs. 22 indicates that the number of molecules with generic copies among antipsychotics is not that large and that the main entry of generics into this group is yet to occur. The development of the consumption of antipsychotics has been linear within all of the monitored period and there was an annual increase of 1 million DDD. The increase has corresponded positively with the increase of the number of examinations in the group of diagnoses for which the antipsychotics are mostly prescribed. The consumption of antipsychotics expressed in SKK increased within the monitored period 17.5 times – from 44 mil. SKK to 770 mil. SKK (at wholesaler purchase price). It was one of the highest increases for all of the ATC groups. Antipsychotics are the No.1 group in CNS as regards financial resources with a 25% share of all the drugs in the group N. A comparison with other countries in the region indicates that the linear increase of the consumption of antipsychotics (30 000 packs per year) will continue in the future and this increase will not slow or decrease even after a level of consumption of antipsychotics is reached which is substantially higher than the current level. The linear increase and the non-decreasing development of the average price per DDD indicates that the share of antipsychotics of the total financial resources will also increase in the future.

Keywords: antipsychotics, consumption