Comparison of Increase in Medication Costs and Medication Funding Per Capita of ‎the ‎Outpatients Insured by the Iranian Salamat Insurance in Isfahan, Iran‎

Medication and its cost in the country's health care system are of grave importance. Thus, the ýaim of this study was to investigate the increase in medication costs in comparison to the ýincrease in medication funding per capita of the outpatients insured by the Iranian Salamat ýInsurance in Isfahan, Iran.
This was a descriptive-analytic study. The data were collected using an information form ýincluding the variables of pharmaceutical expenditure, pharmaceutical expenditure per capita, ýthe number of insured per city, approved cost per capita, operating cost per capita, the number ýof pharmacies, expensive drugs, drugs with the highest rate per capita, and drugs with the ýhighest frequency of use. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and the ýPearson correlation coefficient.
From 2009 to 2013, the drug costs constituted, respectively, 25, 23, 22, 22, and 31 percent ýof the total health care costs of the Iranian Salamat Insurance. Amount per capita in 2013 ýcompared to years 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012 were 58, 49, 28, and 21 percent higher, ýrespectively. Drug operating cost and its growth rate had increased during the studied 5 ýyears, compared to the approved costs per capita. More than half of the total drug cost in ýý2009-2013 was allocated to the 35 most expensive drugs. The Pearson correlation showed ýthat with increase in operating cost, the number of visits to pharmacies decreased.
Revision of drug reimbursement, substitution of lower-cost drugs, and modification of the ýprescription pattern used by physicians can be effective in the optimization of drug costs.