Healthy Skepticism Library item: 3199

Warning: This library includes all items relevant to health product marketing that we are aware of regardless of quality. Often we do not agree with all or part of the contents.

Publication type: Journal Article

Laporte JR, Porta M, Capella D, Arnau JM.
Drugs in the Spanish health system.
Int J Health Serv 1984; 14:(4):635-48

Abstract:

(Limited to parts of article dealing with promotion.) Most of the drug information used by physicians in Spain comes from the promotional activities of the pharmaceutical industry. There is very little educational information in advertisements. There are wide differences in the information given in the United States Physicians’ Desk Reference and its Spanish equivalent. Although cerebral vasodilators have not been shown to have any efficacy in the treatment of dementias this group of drugs made up almost 10% of drug expenditures in 1982.

This paper presents data on drug consumption in Spain, analyzed from a cultural as well as from a medical point of view. The overuse of medicines is an economic rather than a pharmaceutical problem, and the main characteristic of drug use in Spain seems to be the misuse of pharmacologic therapeutic strategies. Four factors which influence the quantity and quality of drug consumption are identified and analyzed: 1) the structure of the primary health care system, 2) general requirements for marketing drugs and the characteristics of pharmaceutical supply, 3) information about drugs used by health professionals, and 4) development and activities—pre-graduate teaching and continuing education—in the field of clinical pharmacology. Some recent activities in this area are also presented. These are intended as a contribution to the development of clinical pharmacology with the aim of turning benefit-risk ratios to the side of the benefit, through the promotion of a more rational drug therapy.

Keywords:
*analysis/Spain/United States/commercial compendia/PDR/Physicians’ Desk Reference/quality of information/source of information/quality of prescribing/EVALUATION OF PROMOTION: COMMERCIAL DRUG COMPENDIA/INFLUENCE OF PROMOTION: PRESCRIBING, DRUG USE/PROMOTION AS A SOURCE OF INFORMATION: DOCTORS/PROMOTION IN SPECIFIC THERAPEUTIC AREAS: NEUROLOGIC DISEASES Comparative Study Drug Therapy/economics Drug Utilization* Europe Health Education Health Expenditures Humans Primary Health Care/standards Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Spain