The Andhra Pradesh Chapter of  International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) is initiating  programs to coordinate pharmacy colleges and research centres in south India in order to expand its activities and popularize the concept of pharmacoeconomics or health economics based on an international concept, said Dr Dixon Thomas, president-elect,  ISPOR, India-AP Chapter.

For this he plans to tour four south Indian states visiting all the pharmacy colleges to educate the students and faculties about the concept.

Pharmacoeconomics refers to the scientific discipline that compares the value of one pharmaceutical drug or drug therapy to another. It evaluates the cost expressed in monetary terms and effects expressed in terms of monetary value, efficacy or enhanced quality of life of a pharmaceutical product.

While briefing about the concept, he said a scientific approach of pharmacoeconomics in healthcare is necessary for a country like India which is highly populated, but not fully developed. The operation of ISPOR in the country will provide relief to the suffering and economically backward people by bringing down the health expenses. As an example, he said 40 per cent of the medical  expenses in the hospital attached to his Raghavendra Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (RIPER) in Anantapur district could be reduced by the application of pharmacoeconomic principles in last year.

In Andhra Pradesh, the association involves healthcare professionals from all parts of the state to improve the quality of clinical outcomes.  The  ISPOR conferences, workshops and publications and the services rendered by the three Chapters, the other two being ISPOR India- Karnataka and ISPOR India-Rajasthan, help the Indian healthcare system get benefited and improved, he said.

Since the founding of ISPOR in 1995, the number of ISPOR regional chapters worldwide has risen to 65 with more than 4800 members now.

The main advantage of the science of pharmacoeconomics is the emergence of the concept of Essential Medicine List (EML). World Health Organization promotes the concept of essential drugs which started in the year 1997 with publication of the first list. The medicines included in the list were selected with regard to disease prevalence, evidence of safety & efficacy and cost-effectiveness. Hospitals which have an EML and a good purchase policy can provide quality drugs on discounted rates or low prices. The main objective of the pharmacoeconomics is to make available cost-effective medicines to the patients, Dr Dixon explained.

He quoted examples of certain state governments that are presently initiating steps to reduce the prices of drugs which forms part of pharmacoeconomics. The Karunya Community Pharmacy of Kerala, Jeevandhara Medical Stores in Andhra Pradesh and the way Tamil Nadu Medical Services Corporation supplies medicines to the hospitals are based on the principles of this health economics.

Regarding the role of hospitals in the application of the science, he said, “The way hospitals are functioning differs according to its category. Charity hospitals are interested in developing or maintaining EML for the pharmacoeconomic benefit to the patients. For the rest of the hospitals, medicines are a mode of increasing the revenue. Corporate hospitals also can make use of practicing essential medicines concept to decrease cost on inventory and provide medicines with more discounts while not affecting the net profit”.

Dr Dixon Thomas said the concept of pharmacoeconomics began to develop in 1970 and in the year 1978, University of Minnesota introduced it in the pharmacy curriculum.  Now it is part of the Pharm D education in India as well as in the medical curriculum.