The Most Costly Pharmaceutical Services of the Health Insurance Organization and Cost Control Solutions

As the pharmaceuticals play a decisive role in promoting health of the community, its consumption and cost puts the burden on society. Regarding the role of insurance organizations in health system financing and the lack of a description of the costly services of the health insurance organization in Iran, the present study aims to identify the most costly pharmaceutical items of the health insurance organization and provide solutions to reduce the consumption of identified items.

The present study was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted in 2017 based on 2015 data. Information was obtained from the medical documentation software of the provincial health insurance offices throughout the country. In order to improve the accuracy of the information and the accuracy of the selection of the most costly services, duplications were identified and corrected. Data analysis was done using Excel 2013 software. The initial questionnaire containing 20 costly services identified at the previous stage was completed by the chief of provincial health insurance offices and relevant responsible experts. The proposed interventions were reviewed and, after removing duplicates, were classified as special interventions for each service and non-specific interventions for all of them.

The cost of 20 items of costly pharmaceuticals has accounted for 35% of total pharmaceuticals costs of health insurance organization in 2015. Among the most important non-specific interventions identified, recording drug prescription (more monitoring of drug use), proper education of rational drug prescription, the presence of a trusted physician to approve drugs, staggered franchising, the pharmaceuticals cost-effectiveness studies and culture empowerment in Prescribing and consumption of medication (increasing general information).

With the knowledge of costly services, in order to balance the costs of the health insurance organization, it is necessary that various policies be put in place by the health insurance organization in order to control costs.