Effects of pharmaceutical cost containment policies on doctors’ prescribing behavior: Focus on antibiotics

• Published in: Health policy (Amsterdam) Vol. 119; no. 9; pp. 1245 - 1254
• Main Authors: Han, Euna, Chae, Su-Mi, Kim, Nam-Soon, Park, Sylvia
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Ireland Elsevier Ireland Ltd 01.09.2015
• Subjects: Across-the-board price cut; Adolescent; Adult; Adults; Anti-Bacterial Agents - economics; Anti-Bacterial Agents - therapeutic use; Antibiotics; Appropriations and expenditures; Child; Child, Preschool; Claims; Clinics; Cost Control - methods; Diseases; Drug Costs; Drugs; Health administration; Health Policy; Humans; Internal Medicine; Otitis Media - drug therapy; Otitis Media - economics; Outpatient prescription incentive program; Practice Patterns, Physicians' - economics; Practice Patterns, Physicians' - statistics & numerical data; Prescription behaviors; Prescription drug expenditures; Prescriptions; Prices; Reimbursement, Incentive; Republic of Korea; Respiratory Tract Infections - drug therapy; Respiratory Tract Infections - economics; South Korea; Young Adult; Prescription behaviors; South Korea; Across-the-board price cut; Outpatient prescription incentive program; Antibiotics; Prescription drug expenditures
• ISSN: 0168-8510; 1872-6054
• DOI: 10.1016/j.healthpol.2015.05.005

Highlights • We assessed pharmaceutical cost containment policies in South Korea. • We explored antibiotics for acute respiratory infections or otitis media. • The incentive program for physicians steadily reduced pharmaceutical spending. • There was no distinct effect of the incentive program on prescribing behaviors. • The price mark-down policy has immediately reduced pharmaceutical spending with no sustaining effects.