1. Impact of Covid-19 containment on community pharmaceutical spending in Andalusia - Spain
- Author
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Antonio J. García Ruiz, Francisco Florido Alba, Nuria García-Agua, Antonio Clavero Barranquero, Ángel Martín Reyes, [Florido Alba,F] Malaga Pharmacists Association. Malaga, Spain. [García-Agua,N, Martín Reyes,Á, and García Ruiz,AJ] Health Economics and Rational Use of Medicines. Department of Pharmacology and Clinical Therapeutics. Biomedical Research Institute of Malaga (IBIMA). University of Malaga. Malaga, Spain. [Clavero Barranquero,A] Department of Statistics and Econometrics. University of Málaga. Malaga, Spain.
- Subjects
Programas gubernamentales ,Phenomena and Processes::Physical Phenomena::Time::Time Factors [Medical Subject Headings] ,mesh:National Health Programs ,España ,Models, econometric ,Pharmaceutical Science ,Pharmacy ,Analytical, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Techniques and Equipment::Investigative Techniques::Models, Theoretical::Models, Statistical::Models, Economic [Medical Subject Headings] ,Gastos en salud ,Modelos econométricos ,Chemicals and Drugs::Pharmaceutical Preparations::Prescription Drugs [Medical Subject Headings] ,Organisms::Eukaryota::Animals::Chordata::Vertebrates::Mammals::Primates::Haplorhini::Catarrhini::Hominidae::Humans [Medical Subject Headings] ,Pandemic ,Programas nacionales de salud ,interrupted time series analysis ,Original Research ,Pandemias ,education.field_of_study ,mesh:COVID-19 ,mesh:Financial Management ,Farmacia ,National health programs ,Health Care::Health Care Economics and Organizations::Health Planning::National Health Programs [Medical Subject Headings] ,mesh:Interrupted Time Series Analysis ,Gestión financiera ,covid-19 ,national health programs ,Information Science::Information Science::Communications Media::Telecommunications::Telephone [Medical Subject Headings] ,Government programs ,mesh:Prescription Drugs ,mesh:Health Expenditures ,models econometric ,government programs ,Análisis de series de tiempo interrumpido ,Interrupted time series analysis ,prescription drugs ,Population ,Health expenditures ,Sample (statistics) ,RM1-950 ,mesh:Spain ,pandemics ,Medicamentos bajo prescripción ,Health Care::Health Services Administration::Organization and Administration::Professional Practice::Referral and Consultation [Medical Subject Headings] ,Financial management ,pharmacies ,Pharmacy and materia medica ,mesh:Pandemics ,Health Care::Health Care Economics and Organizations::Economics::Costs and Cost Analysis::Health Expenditures [Medical Subject Headings] ,Environmental health ,Health Care::Health Care Economics and Organizations::Economics::Financial Management [Medical Subject Headings] ,spain ,Medical prescription ,education ,mesh:Government Programs ,Health Care::Health Care Facilities, Manpower, and Services::Health Facilities::Pharmacies [Medical Subject Headings] ,Pandemics ,Consumption (economics) ,Pharmacies ,Geographical Locations::Geographic Locations::Europe::Spain [Medical Subject Headings] ,Prescription drugs ,Anthropology, Education, Sociology and Social Phenomena::Social Sciences::Government Programs [Medical Subject Headings] ,business.industry ,mesh:Pharmacies ,mesh:Models, Econometric ,COVID-19 ,Health Care::Environment and Public Health::Public Health::Disease Outbreaks::Epidemics::Pandemics [Medical Subject Headings] ,financial management ,RS1-441 ,Econometric model ,Spain ,health expenditures ,Therapeutics. Pharmacology ,business - Abstract
Background: In the field of health, the year 2020 will be remembered for testing (stressing) all health institutions and their forms of management (centralised and decentralised). The everyday activity of primary and hospital care was significantly altered by the introduction of telephone consultations, which reduce the number of visits to health centres or hospitals and are still relevant today in the face of successive waves of the pandemic. Objective: To analyse whether population confinement due to the COVID-19 pandemic had an impact on the dispensing of medications in community pharmacies and the associated spending during the period March-July 2020 in Andalusia (Spain). Methods: A time series analysis applying econometric model analysis techniques to confirm or rule out whether the lockdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic had an impact on the dispensing of medications by community pharmacies and the associated expenditures. The variables used were the number of medication containers dispensed by community pharmacies (charged to the public funds of the Spanish National Health System) and the expenditure on prescription drugs, both in relation to the population. The analysis was performed within the region of Andalusia, which has 8,464,441 inhabitants. Results: The data obtained from the time series confirmed that there were no significant differences during the studied period between the number of medication containers actually dispensed and the number that would have been expected to be dispensed according to the trend in this variable for the sample period. The expenditure results followed the same pattern. Conclusions: The health crisis produced by the COVID-19 lockdown had no impact on medication consumption in Andalusia.
- Published
- 2021