Friday, June 21, 2019

Benefits Of International Reference Pricing China And Japan

By Betty Sanders


The ever-escalating cost of healthcare has made it difficult for most people to access health care services. Governments are, therefore forced to step in and control prices to ensure universal access. Various strategies can be used to determine the cost of medicines, and IRP is an emerging system in this sector. When it comes to International Reference Pricing China and Japan stand to gain a lot due to their economic and geographic similarities. For more details on how these two countries can benefit from this system, read on.

Such a system ensures a streamlined cost of healthcare. Disparities in charges often exist where there is no control. For example, the same drug might be sold by a big margin between two different regions in the same country. With this system, however, the price of a drug is guaranteed to be the same whether you are in Eastern or western China.

This system facilitates market access. IRP policies increase the interconnection of markets. The Asian market is huge, and countries stand to benefit from trading across borders. When prices are aligned, it ensures that the same products can be sold across the border at almost the same costs. This not only widens the market, but also allows countries to specialize in different areas of production.

Companies no longer have monopoly over prices. While drug manufacturers still hold a considerable grip on the price rod, they are no longer lone rangers in the game. There are deep consultations and clear guidelines on prices. Hence, they should already know how much a particular drug is likely to cost even before it is released to the market.

Patients also stand to get better treatment. Most patients keep away from hospitals because they know that costs are way beyond their reach. However, when prices are capped, there is a maximum amount that the patent can spend. This will increase their confidence in treatment and increase access.

Referencing is critical in reducing the prices of medicines. There are many ways in which governments can regulate the costs of medicines. However, IRP is found to be the most suitable because it considers several issues to ensure that while patients benefit, the manufactures also do not lose.

This is a relatively simple method. For the implementation of this system, countries only need little information such as the costs of the same medicines in other countries. The countries used for referencing are normally those that share similar economic environments or geographic similarities. It is assumed that referencing countries have fairer and competitive prices.

The system is easy to implement. The most important tool in the implementation of this system is communication. Once the relevant IR policies have been developed, they only need to be communicated to the drug manufacturers and other stakeholders for implementation to begin. This is not only easy, but also cheap.

The IRP is gaining international recognition as more and more countries begin to adopt it. This system is ideal for countries like China and Japan. This is because it will ensure that no country pays more or less in the region.




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