Abstract

JARAMILLO-GONZALEZ, Luis E.  and  DIAZ-ROJAS, Jorge A.. Costs analysis of psychotherapeutic drugs in an university students health service. Rev. colomb. cienc. quim. farm. [online]. 2011, vol.40, n.2, pp.153-173. ISSN 0034-7418.

Objective: To assess drug prescription costs and their economic impact on family budgets, in the psychiatry consultation at the student health service of the Colombian National University in Bogota. Methods: Observational, descriptive, cross- sectional, retrospective study of prescription drug costs to students who attended psychiatry service during 2006. One- hundred- ninety- one medical files were included. Results: A total of 81% of students were under 25 years, 95% single, most of them medicine and basic sciences students. The most common diagnoses were depression and anxious spectrum which were treated with antidepressants, especially SSRI (selective serotonin re uptake inhibitors), and anxiolytics. The average cost of prescriptions per month was $ 72,773 (5.4 LDMW- legal daily minimum wage) using only generic drugs and $ 367,160 (27 LDMW) if brand name drugs were only used, that would mean increasing the drugs by spending in some cases 50 times higher. On average, families spent 8.8% and 45.6% of their household budget to buy generic or branded, respectively. There was no difference in the average cost of treatment in LDMW for depressive spectrum disorders. Conclusions: The economic aspect may be a limiting factor in access to specialized psychiatric drugs that may affect the beginning and compliance of treatments. Therefore it is important to facilitate access to medicines through generic and therapeutic substitution policies.

Keywords : psychotherapeutic drugs; pharmacoeconomics; costs; university students; university students' health service.

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