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The impact of user charges on the consumption of drugs : Empirical evidence and economic implications

Gerdtham, Ulf G. LU orcid and Johannesson, Magnus (1996) In PharmacoEconomics 9(6). p.478-483
Abstract

Expenditure on drugs is increasing rapidly in many countries, and this has led to increased interest in measures to contain drug expenditure. One measure that has been discussed is to increase user charges for prescription drugs. In this article, we consider whether or not raising user charges decreases the consumption of drugs. We also discuss how to judge if increased user charges for drugs are desirable from an economic viewpoint. We conclude that the decision to increase user charges for prescription drugs should not be viewed as an issue of cost containment, but as a matter of balancing the societal costs against the societal benefits of increased user charges.

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author
and
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
PharmacoEconomics
volume
9
issue
6
pages
6 pages
publisher
Adis International
external identifiers
  • pmid:10160475
  • scopus:0029995960
ISSN
1170-7690
DOI
10.2165/00019053-199609060-00002
language
English
LU publication?
no
id
3ef5c0c3-440f-4626-b939-8bb8e1eda32e
date added to LUP
2018-10-09 12:35:41
date last changed
2024-01-15 03:33:24
@misc{3ef5c0c3-440f-4626-b939-8bb8e1eda32e,
  abstract     = {{<p>Expenditure on drugs is increasing rapidly in many countries, and this has led to increased interest in measures to contain drug expenditure. One measure that has been discussed is to increase user charges for prescription drugs. In this article, we consider whether or not raising user charges decreases the consumption of drugs. We also discuss how to judge if increased user charges for drugs are desirable from an economic viewpoint. We conclude that the decision to increase user charges for prescription drugs should not be viewed as an issue of cost containment, but as a matter of balancing the societal costs against the societal benefits of increased user charges.</p>}},
  author       = {{Gerdtham, Ulf G. and Johannesson, Magnus}},
  issn         = {{1170-7690}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{01}},
  number       = {{6}},
  pages        = {{478--483}},
  publisher    = {{Adis International}},
  series       = {{PharmacoEconomics}},
  title        = {{The impact of user charges on the consumption of drugs : Empirical evidence and economic implications}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.2165/00019053-199609060-00002}},
  doi          = {{10.2165/00019053-199609060-00002}},
  volume       = {{9}},
  year         = {{1996}},
}