In Italy, public pharmaceutical spending for each citizen is lower than in other large European countries.
This is indicated by the numbers presented by Farmindustria at the annual meeting of the association of pharmaceutical manufacturers, currently underway in Rome. In 2007, in our country, the per capita expenditure on medicines amounted to 194.4 euros, much lower than the average of 269.4 euros and the figure reached by France, 321 euros, or by Germany (310 euros). . And all this despite the fact that the over-65 population in Italy is 19.9% against the 17.9% of the Union average. According to Farmindustria, "after seven years of cuts, in Italy, public pharmaceutical expenditure per capita is lower than that of the other Countries because the prices of prescription drugs are among the lowest, costs are often higher, there is a greater differential with inflation rates and a higher tax burden. The industry association, however, underlines that the National Health Service "guarantees all medicines deemed essential, offering excellent coverage, around 70% of total pharmaceutical expenditure, for a value in 2007 of 11,493 million euros for medicines dispensed in pharmacies, to which are added 4,371 in hospitals or distributed directly by public facilities". But from "2001 to 2007, approved pharmaceutical expenditure decreased by 1.4%, while overall health expenditure increased by 36.9%: a result determined by the growth of 43.9% in other expenditure items, which account for 84% of the total. Approximately 50% is made up of hospital expenditure, almost 2/3 for personnel". Doctornews 04-07-08
