RESUMO
BACKGROUND: In the field of health, the year 2020 will be remembered for testing (stressing) all health institutions and their forms of management (centralised and decentralised). The everyday activity of primary and hospital care was significantly altered by the introduction of telephone consultations, which reduce the number of visits to health centres or hospitals and are still relevant today in the face of successive waves of the pandemic. OBJECTIVE: To analyse whether population confinement due to the COVID-19 pandemic had an impact on the dispensing of medications in community pharmacies and the associated spending during the period March-July 2020 in Andalusia (Spain). METHODS: A time series analysis applying econometric model analysis techniques to confirm or rule out whether the lockdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic had an impact on the dispensing of medications by community pharmacies and the associated expenditures. The variables used were the number of medication containers dispensed by community pharmacies (charged to the public funds of the Spanish National Health System) and the expenditure on prescription drugs, both in relation to the population. The analysis was performed within the region of Andalusia, which has 8,464,441 inhabitants. RESULTS: The data obtained from the time series confirmed that there were no significant differences during the studied period between the number of medication containers actually dispensed and the number that would have been expected to be dispensed according to the trend in this variable for the sample period. The expenditure results followed the same pattern. CONCLUSIONS: The health crisis produced by the COVID-19 lockdown had no impact on medication consumption in Andalusia.
RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: The Spanish economic crisis began in 2008 and according to the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Compe- titiveness it concluded in 2014. During the crisis the main macroeconomic indicators had an adverse evolution and the effects have lasted for more than six years to the present. Aim: To assess the influence on public spending (health and pharmaceutical) that the governing policies have had and the time of crisis suffered. METHODS: Public expenditure per inhabitant (health and pharmaceutical) is compared according to the study period (pre, crisis and post), the political ideology of the ruling party (conservative/ progressive) and each autonomous community in reference to GDP per inhabitant in each of they respect the national average (poor, average or rich) according to the quartiles. The sources of the data have been the National Statistics Institute (GDP and inhabitants of each Autonomous Community and study period) and the Ministry of Health, Social Services and Equality (public health and pharmaceutical expenditure). The statistical procedures (SPSS v24) included descriptive and inferential analysis for public healthcare and pharmaceutical expenditure according to the period of study and ideology. There was also a regression fit to know the relative importance of predictor varibles. RESULTS: During the crisis period there were differences in public health expenditure per inhabitant in the different types of Autonomous Communities (poor / medium / rich) and according to political ideology (p <0.05). Public pharmaceutical expenditure was 327 / inhab (pre-crisis) to 366 / inhabitant in the final period of the study. There were statistically significant differences in pharmaceutical expenditure according to the different types of CCAA. Likewise, differences were found in per capita pharmaceutical expenditure between the Autonomous Communities run by conservatives and type of Autonomous Communities throughout the study period. CONCLUSIONS: The community pharmaceutical expenditure per capita has decreased by more than 13% since 2006 until 2017, while the hospital pharmaceutical expenditure has increased by more than 84%. Rich regions invest more in the health care costs and the poor more than drugs.
OBJETIVO: La crisis económica española se inició en el año 2008 y según el Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Compe- titividad concluyó en el año 2014. Durante la crisis los principa- les indicadores macro-económicos tuvieron una evolución adversa y los efectos se han prolongado durante más de seis años hasta la actualidad. El objetivo de este trabajo fue valorar la influencia en el gasto público (sanitario y farmacéutico) que han tenido las políticas gobernantes y el tiempo de crisis sufrido. METODOS: Se compara el gasto público por habitante (sanitario y farmacéutico) según el período de estudio (pre, crisis y post), la ideología política del partido gobernante (conservador/ progresista) y cada comunidad autónoma en referencia al PIB por habitante en cada una de ellas respecto de la media nacional (pobres, en la media o ricas) según los cuartiles. Las fuentes de los datos han sido el INE (PIB y habitantes de cada CCAA y periodo de estudio) y del Ministerio de Sanidad, Servicios Sociales e Igualdad (gasto público sanitario y farmacéutico). El examen estadístico (SPSS 24) incluyó análisis descriptivo e inferencial del gasto sanitario y farmacéutico publico según el período de estudio e ideología, también se realizó un ajuste de regresión para conocer la importancia relativa de las variables predictoras. RESULTADOS: Durante el período de crisis hubo diferencias en el gasto sanitario público por habitante en los distintos tipos de CCAA (pobres/medias/ricas) y según ideología política gobernante (p <0,05). El gasto farmacéutico público pasó de 327 /hab (pre-crisis) a 366 /hab en el período final del estudio. Hubo diferencias estadísticamente significativas en el gasto farmacéutico según los distintos tipos de CCAA. De igual forma se encontraron diferencias en el gasto farmacéutico por habitante entre las CCAA regentadas por conservadores y tipo de CCAA a lo largo de todo el período de estudio. CONCLUSIONES: El gasto farmacéutico comunitario por habitante ha disminuido en más del 13% desde 2006 hasta 2017, mientras que el gasto farmacéutico hospitalario se ha incrementado en más del 84%. Las CCAA ricas invierten más en gasto sanitario y las pobres más de medicamentos.
