Medical Brief 265 - 8 Aug 2019
"The use of cheaper generic alternatives rose to an all-time high of 62% in the private sector in 2018, while the top five chronic disease list (CDL) conditions — hypertension, diabetes mellitus type 2, HIV/AIDS, hyperlipidaemia and asthma — were responsible for almost two-thirds of the CDL expenditure, according to the latest Mediscor Medicines Review.
Business Day said the trend highlighted the continued impact of the Health Department’s laws encouraging the use of generics, combined with measures taken by medical schemes to discourage the use of more expensive branded products.
The review highlighted how schemes continue to face cost pressures from expensive speciality medicines used by a relatively small number of patients. A mere 0.1% of the volume of medicines claimed in 2018 was speciality medicines such as biologics, yet they accounted for 8.8% of the costs. In 2017, 0.2% of the claims were for speciality medicines, constituting 11% of expenditure."
Read more:
https://www.medicalbrief.co.za/archives/use-generics-rises-new-high-sas-private-sector/
