Washington, D.C., 30 September 2016 (PAHO/WHO) - Ministers of health from throughout the Americas agreed on a series of actions to improve access to and use of high-cost medicines and health technologies, to improve patient care and ensure the sustainability of health systems.
The actions, set out in a framework approved by the 55th Directing Council of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) this week, will help countries identify the best policies and strategies for increasing access to these products without excessive costs to their health budgets.
In 2010, the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean on average spent 7.65% of the GDP on health. Of that proportion, 1.7% was for medicines. In many cases, medicines account for the largest share of the costs of treatment and care. Medicines to treat patients with HIV, for example, represent 75% of the total costs of their care.
The new framework calls on countries to work together and on multiple fronts, including the development of policies and legal frameworks to regulate the pharmaceutical sector and to promote transparency in pricing, as well as strengthening regulatory systems to ensure the quality of medicines, and increasing their utilization of joint procurement mechanisms including PAHO's Strategic Fund and Revolving Fund, which obtain high-quality medicines, vaccines and other medical products at lower prices for member countries by consolidating demand.
Two key measures for ensuring the rational use of high-cost medicines are to prioritize the use of safe, effective and high-quality generics and to do rigorous cost-effectiveness evaluations of new medical products so that only those with added value for patient care are adopted into health systems.
"We need to discourage inappropriate demand for medicines and health technologies that are costly but ineffective, or that do not offer sufficient benefits over less expensive alternatives," said James Fitzgerald, director of PAHO's Health Systems and services department. "Using generic medicines can mean significant savings without compromising the quality of care."
The new framework also seeks to promote the entry of quality generic products into markets following the expiration of patents, which can encourage competition in the industry and reduce costs. It also calls for regulation of marketing and advertising of pharmaceutical products and for the establishment of codes of conduct for field medical representatives from the industry. It urges health authorities to work with the pharmaceutical sector to improve transparency regarding pricing and the costs of research and development, to prevent waste and increase access to medicines and health technologies.
To advance these goals, PAHO will support countries in the development of policies and legal frameworks, help strengthen their capacity to evaluate new health technologies, and facilitate the sharing of successful experiences that can be adapted and replicated in different countries.
