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2 MAY – Among the clichés to debunk in the health field, the fact that the Italian state spends too much on medicines: "Italy (public spending per capita) in fact pays 27% less than the other Big EU, moreover with lower drug prices of 15-20%". He explained it Massimo Scaccabarozzi, President of Farmindustria, in the conference 'Government of spending', which took place today in Bologna during the Medical Science Festival.
Another myth to be debunked is that pharmaceuticals weigh heavily on healthcare: if we consider the problem of healthcare expenditure as a whole, added Scaccabarozzi, we note that a year of pharmaceutical assistance costs 270 euros, while a day in hospital costs around 1,000. . Furthermore, for every euro spent on vaccination, savings are generated - for diseases avoided - equal to 24 euros. "Already from this - commented Scaccabarozzi - you can understand how savings can be made".
If a drug saves you a liver transplant, for example, as in the case of hepatitis C, and that savings is put into the drug, you can see, for example, how many patients you can treat. “Today there are categories of drugs which, with a few cents a day, make sure that there are no more surgical operations for the resection of gastroduodenal ulcers, which are so disabling and cost days and days of hospitalization”.
“Drugs probably cost more today than they did 50 years ago – observed the president of Farmindustria – however, it must be said that research has become increasingly expensive, developing a drug costs over 2 billion and it takes ten years to investments. Today we continue to look at the drug as an activity in its own right - concluded Scaccabarozzi - and not as part of the system".
