Role of the Pharmacoeconomic Aspects in the Clinical Management of Hypertension.

ABSTRACT

Hypertension constitutes a significant disease burden to the society, both in terms of the health-related repercussions as well as financial costs incurred due to morbidity and the cumulative cost of drug therapy. In the real world, it would be useful to have the opportunity to consider the appropriate use of antihypertensive drugs to inform and guide clinical practice. To evaluate the adherence of drugs prescriptions in clinical practice according to predefined standards of care, a series of indicators measurable in relation to specific conditions have been developed. This work presents four indicators the first related to the use of drugs acting on the renin-angiotensin system in patients at high cardiovascular risk; the second related to the use of angiotensin II antagonists with expired patent; the third related the occasional prescription of antihypertensive drugs; and the fourth on the adherence to treatment with antihypertensive drugs. The four indicators were measured in the OsMed database.