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A. Nogués / Europa Press
Malaga / Madrid
Wednesday, 9 October 2024, 21:08
Changes are afoot in Spain's pharmacies and there are also some pleasant surprises for patients' wallets. On Tuesday 8 October the official state gazette (BOE) published an order from the Ministry of Health, updating the official price list for medicines in Spain's national health system (SNS). The document revises the prices for 17,655 pharmaceutical items, of which 13,933 are dispensed in high street pharmacies and 3,722 in hospitals. The measure, according to government calculations, will mean an estimated saving of 139 million euros for the public coffers (almost half of the reduction set in the previous year's review, estimated at 217.54 million).
That is not all. The order published on Tuesday creates 12 new sets of drug treatments (medicine, capsules, soluble tablets and other formats) to be dispensed in pharmacies and another dozen in hospitals. In addition, it revises the listed prices of existing sets of drugs (453 dispensed in pharmacies and 268 in health centres) and removes 17 sets of drugs dispensed in certain formats.
The Sistema de Precios de Referencia (SPR) reference price system came into being two decades ago and it applies a value that serves as a guide for medicines that are publicly financed by the state. This indicator is calculated on the basis of the lowest cost per treatment per day of the services included in the price point for each group of pharmaceutical items. It also takes into account the supply capacity and its permanence in the pharmaceutical provision of the public healthcare system. The new 'minimum reference price' published on Tuesday in the BOE is 1.60 euros. Of the medicines administered by the public healthcare system, 314 have not been reviewed this time given that they cover priority health needs of the population and must therefore be available at all times.
So, what are the new deadlines from now on? The pharmaceutical companies will have their laboratories supply medicines at their new industry price point as of Wednesday this week. Distributors can maintain the pre-reduction price for a period of 20 calendar days, while pharmacies can do so until 30 November.
Last year, of all the prescriptions issued within the SNS, analgesics like ibuprofen and naproxen were the most widely prescribed with a total of 141.5 million sold. They are followed by the category of psycholeptics (93.3 million packs of drugs intended to calm a patient down), which includes antipsychotics, anxiolytics (anti-anxiety, stress), hypnotics and sedatives. Drugs used to treat diabetes were the ones with the highest turnover: 53.8 million packs sold, costing over 2.16 billion euros. According to a 2023 report prepared by the Spanish federation for pharmaceutical businesses (FEFE), Nolotil was the best-selling medicine, followed by paracetamol Kern and Adiro 100 (an antiplatelet agent to prevent heart attacks, thromboses and strokes).
The new price listings
The ministerial order published on Tuesday determines the official prices for each medicine, this year with not so many changes, but remember that each patient will pay a different amount depending on their particular situation. These are the new prices for 10 of the most widely consumed drugs in Spain:
- Nolotil (analgesic): on prescription, a pack of 10 capsules can be purchased for 1.56 euros and a pack of 20 capsules for 2.26 euros.
- Paracetamol Kern (analgesic): a box of 40 tablets of 650mg will now be sold for 1.31 euros, while those of 1 gramme will be priced at 1.90 euros (20 tablets) or 2.50 euros (40 tablets).
- Adiro 100(antiplatelet agent): a box of 30 100mg tablets will be priced at 1.45 euros.
- Enantyum (analgesic): the price will vary according to the form of this medicine. The 2ml ampoules will now be priced at 5.59 euros, while the 25mg sachets will cost 4 euros. As for tablets, these will be priced at 4 euros for boxes of 20 tablets of 25mg each and 40 tablets of 12.5mg. The cost is reduced to 2.50 euros for the packs of 20 tablets of 12.5mg.
- ParacetamolCinfa(analgesic): 650mg packs will be priced at 0.86 euros (20 tablets) and 1.31 euros (40 tablets). The 1-gramme packs will cost 1.9 euros (20 tablets) or 2.50 (40 tablets).
- Eutirox (thyroid): 2.06 for 25 microgrammes (mcg - 0.001 of a milligramme), 2.79 for 50mcg, 4.09 for 75mcg, 4.51 for 88mcg, 4.93 for 100mcg, 5.18 for 112mcg, 5.7 for 125mcg, 5.85 for 137mcg, 6.46 for 150mcg and 7.58 euros for 200 microgrammes.
- OmeprazolCinfa (ulcers): 2.50 (14 capsules) and 4.15 (28 capsules), while the 20mg version is priced at 1.28 euros (14 capsules) or 2.42 for 28 capsules).
- LorazepamNormon(tranquilliser): packs of 50 tablets of 0.5mg are priced at 1.56 euros, those of 1 milligramme cost 1.37 euros (25 tablets) or 1.72 euros (50 tablets).
- Ventolin (anti-asthma): the liquid medicine will be priced at 1.50 euros while the inhaler will cost 4.09 and the solution for the nebuliser 2.12.
- Zaldiar (analgesic): effervescent tablets are priced at 2.97, while film-coated tablets will cost 2.97 (20 tablets) or 8.88 (60 tablets).
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