IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/hepoli/v138y2023ics016885102300204x.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A systematic review of policies regulating or removing mark-ups in the pharmaceutical supply and distribution chain

Author

Listed:
  • Joosse, Iris R.
  • Tordrup, David
  • Glanville, Julie
  • Mantel-Teeuwisse, Aukje K.
  • van den Ham, Hendrika A.

Abstract

The regulation of mark-ups throughout the pharmaceutical supply and distribution chain may be a valuable approach to control prices of medicines and to achieve broader access to medicines. As part of a wider review, we aimed to systematically determine whether policies regulating mark-ups are effective in managing the prices of pharmaceutical products. We searched for studies published between January 1, 2004 and October 10, 2019, comparing policies on regulating mark-ups against other interventions or a counterfactual. Eligible study designs included randomized trials, and non-randomized or quasi-experimental studies such as interrupted time-series (ITS), repeated measures (RM), and controlled before-after studies. Studies were eligible if they included at least one of the following outcomes: price (or expenditure as a proxy for price and volume), volume, availability or affordability of pharmaceutical products. The quality of the evidence was assessed using the GRADE methodology. A total of 32,011 records were retrieved, seven of which were eligible for inclusion for this review. The limited body of evidence cautiously suggests that policies regulating mark-ups may be effective in reducing medicine prices and pharmaceutical expenditures. However, the design of mark-up regulations is a critical factor for their potential success. Additional research is required to confirm the effects of these policies on the availability, affordability or usage patterns of medicines and in low- and middle-income countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Joosse, Iris R. & Tordrup, David & Glanville, Julie & Mantel-Teeuwisse, Aukje K. & van den Ham, Hendrika A., 2023. "A systematic review of policies regulating or removing mark-ups in the pharmaceutical supply and distribution chain," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:hepoli:v:138:y:2023:i:c:s016885102300204x
    DOI: 10.1016/j.healthpol.2023.104919
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S016885102300204X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.healthpol.2023.104919?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Fu, Hongqiao & Li, Ling & Yip, Winnie, 2018. "Intended and unintended impacts of price changes for drugs and medical services: Evidence from China," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 211(C), pages 114-122.
    2. Iván Moreno-Torres & Jaume Puig-Junoy & Josep Raya, 2011. "The impact of repeated cost containment policies on pharmaceutical expenditure: experience in Spain," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 12(6), pages 563-573, December.
    3. Hanchao Cheng & Yuou Zhang & Jing Sun & Yuanli Liu, 2022. "How Did Zero-Markup Medicines Policy Change Prescriptions in the Eyes of Patients?—A Retrospective Quasi-Experimental Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(19), pages 1-11, September.
    4. Liu, Ya-Ming & Yang, Yea-Huei Kao & Hsieh, Chee-Ruey, 2009. "Financial incentives and physicians' prescription decisions on the choice between brand-name and generic drugs: Evidence from Taiwan," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(2), pages 341-349, March.
    5. Fritz von der Schulenburg & Sotiris Vandoros & Panos Kanavos, 2011. "The effects of drug market regulation on pharmaceutical prices in Europe: overview and evidence from the market of ACE inhibitors," Health Economics Review, Springer, vol. 1(1), pages 1-8, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Tianyan Hu & Sandra L. Decker & Shin-Yi Chou, 2014. "The Impact of Health Insurance Expansion on Physician Treatment Choice: Medicare Part D and Physician Prescribing," NBER Working Papers 20708, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Shu Yan & Lizi Pan & Yan Lu & Juan Chen & Ting Zhang & Dongzi Xu & Zhaolian Ouyang, 2023. "Towards Sustainable Drug Supply in China: A Bibliometric Analysis of Drug Reform Policies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-20, June.
    3. Müller, Tobias & Schmid, Christian & Gerfin, Michael, 2023. "Rents for Pills: Financial incentives and physician behavior," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    4. Daniel Burkhard & Christian P. R. Schmid & Kaspar Wüthrich, 2019. "Financial incentives and physician prescription behavior: Evidence from dispensing regulations," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(9), pages 1114-1129, September.
    5. Mengna Luan & Wenjing Shi & Zhigang Tao & Hongjie Yuan, 2023. "When patients have better insurance coverage in China: Provider incentives, costs, and quality of care," Economics of Transition and Institutional Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(4), pages 1073-1106, October.
    6. Adrian Towse & Michele Pistollato & Jorge Mestre-Ferrandiz & Zeba Khan & Satyin Kaura & Louis Garrison, 2015. "European Union Pharmaceutical Markets: A Case for Differential Pricing?," International Journal of the Economics of Business, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(2), pages 263-275, July.
    7. Alexander Ahammer & Ivan Zilic, 2017. "Do Financial Incentives Alter Physician Prescription Behavior? Evidence from Random Patient-GP Allocations," Working Papers 1701, The Institute of Economics, Zagreb.
    8. Rachet-Jacquet, Laurie & Toulemon, Léa & Rochaix, Lise, 2021. "Hospital payment schemes and high-priced drugs: Evidence from the French Add-on List," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 125(7), pages 923-929.
    9. Stacherl, Barbara & Renner, Anna-Theresa & Weber, Daniela, 2023. "Financial incentives and antibiotic prescribing patterns: Evidence from dispensing physicians in a public healthcare system," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 321(C).
    10. Kaiser, Ulrich & Mendez, Susan J. & Rønde, Thomas & Ullrich, Hannes, 2014. "Regulation of pharmaceutical prices: Evidence from a reference price reform in Denmark," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 174-187.
    11. Brekke, Kurt Richard & Holmås, Tor Helge & Straume, Odd Rune, 2013. "Margins and market shares: Pharmacy incentives for generic substitution," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 116-131.
    12. Deiana, Claudio & Giua, Ludovica & Nistico, Roberto, 2019. "The Economics behind the Epidemic: Afghan Opium Price and Prescription Opioids in the US," IZA Discussion Papers 12872, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    13. Lai, Yi & Fu, Hongqiao & Li, Ling & Yip, Winnie, 2022. "Hospital response to a case-based payment scheme under regional global budget: The case of Guangzhou in China," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 292(C).
    14. Granlund, David & Sundström, David, 2018. "Physicians prescribing originals causes welfare losses," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 170(C), pages 143-146.
    15. Fulai Gu & Xiaobing Liu & Lian Qi & Xiaowei Xu & Zheng Zeng, 2021. "Financial and social impacts of drug price changes: Evidence from 2017 healthcare reform in Liaoning Province, China," International Journal of Health Planning and Management, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(6), pages 2215-2230, November.
    16. Kim, Seung Ju & Han, Kyu-Tae & Kim, Sun Jung & Park, Eun-Cheol & Park, Hye Ki, 2016. "Impact of a diagnosis-related group payment system on cesarean section in Korea," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 120(6), pages 596-603.
    17. Makoto Kakinaka & Ryuta Kato, 2013. "Regulated medical fee schedule of the Japanese health care system," International Journal of Health Economics and Management, Springer, vol. 13(3), pages 301-317, December.
    18. Ying Yang & Huijing Wu & Caixia Yan, 2021. "Medical consumable usage control based on Canopy_K-means clustering and WARM," Journal of Combinatorial Optimization, Springer, vol. 42(4), pages 722-739, November.
    19. Sotiris Vandoros, 2014. "Therapeutic Substitution Post‐Patent Expiry: The Cases Of Ace Inhibitors And Proton Pump Inhibitors," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 23(5), pages 621-630, May.
    20. repec:zbw:rwirep:0470 is not listed on IDEAS
    21. Andia, Tatiana & Mantilla, César & Morales, Álvaro & Ortiz, Santiago & Rodríguez-Lesmes, Paul, 2022. "Does price-cap regulation work for increasing access to contraceptives? Aggregate- and pharmacy-level evidence from Colombia," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 311(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:hepoli:v:138:y:2023:i:c:s016885102300204x. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu or the person in charge (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/healthpol .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.