ObjectiveTo propose policy recommendations for improvement of the affordability of high cost medicines with significant public health implications under the patent system in China. MethodsThrough literature analysis and market investigation, this study targeted expensive life saving medicines under the patent protection, which are critical for the treatment of eight diseases with the most significant disease burden and critical social, economic and political impact for case studies, estimated the individual and insurance direct economic burden of medicines treatment. ResultsChemical product patent protection enhanced medicines price monopoly. The targeted medicines brought huge financial burden to Chinese citizens, especially to the rural residents. Breaking chemical product patent protection, achieving parallel importation or making generic drugs enter into the China's market, can save huge amount of medicines procurement budget for the government, and benefit the general public. ConclusionDeveloping and implementing medicines registration and intellectual property right protection strategies with public health perspective, adding continuously improved basic health insurance programs, can effectively promote the affordability of high cost medicines with significant public health, social, political and economic implications.
ObjectiveTo study the direct economic burden of hospitalization in patients with carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) infection.MethodsPatients with CRE detected in Jianyang People’s Hospital between January 2017 and June 2019 were divided into infection group and colonization group, and multiple linear regression analysis was used to analyze the confounding factors, and then propensity score matching method was used to match the confounding factors of the two groups, finally the direct economic burden of hospitalization was compared between the two groups.ResultsA total of 2 013 patients were enrolled, including 507 CRE-infected patients and 1 506 CRE-colonized patients. Multiple linear regression results showed that factors affecting the direct economic burden of hospitalization included mechanical ventilation, intravenous catheterization, blood transfusion or use of blood products, urinary intubation, tracheotomy, gender, surgery, intensive care unit stay, main diagnosis, and the type of medical insurance, together with CRE infection (P<0.05). After propensity score matching, these confounding factors were well balanced between the infection group (n=249) and the colonization group (n=249), and the differences were not statistically significant (P>0.05). The median of total hospitalization cost of CRE-infected patients was 1.29 times (15 589.23 yuan more than) that of CRE-colonized patients and the difference between the two groups was statistically significant (Z=–3.116, P=0.002). The top two types of hospitalization cost with largest differences in the medians were the cost of Western medicine (4 850.21 yuan; Z=–3.460, P=0.001) and the cost of laboratory diagnosis (2 613.00 yuan; Z=–3.529, P<0.001), respectively. The cost of antimicrobial drugs differed significantly between the two groups (Z=–3.391, P=0.001), and it was 1.54 times in patients with CRE infection what it was in patients with CRE colonization.ConclusionsThere are many factors affecting the direct economic burden of inpatients, and it is necessary to avoid the influence of confounding factors as far as possible during analysis. The economic burden of patients with CRE infection is significantly greater than that of CRE-colonized patients, so active measures should be adopted to prevent and control CRE infection.
ObjectiveTo summarize the epidemiology of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and the epidemiological and economic burdens of NAFLD, so as to provide a reference for hospital management decision-making. MethodThe domestic and foreign guidelines relevant to NAFLD and the literatures relevant to epidemiological investigation and disease burden researches were summarized and its research progress was reviewed. ResultsThe global prevalence of NAFLD was increasing over years. The incidence, mortality, and disability adjusted life years of liver cirrhosis and liver cancer caused by NAFLD had increased year by year. The patients relevant to NAFLD of inpatients and outpatients had increased obviously, and the overall medical expenses had also shown a rising trend. The possible reasons were health care awareness, new drug research, population aging, and excessive medical consumption. In addition, children and adolescents with NAFLD had a obviously increased risk of liver or extrahepatic diseases. ConclusionsBy understanding the epidemiological trend of NAFLD, it is a certain understanding of the disease burden of NAFLD and the related factors affecting the increase of its treatment cost. It is believed that it is necessary to further pay attention to and strengthen the genetic characteristics, pathogenesis, drug research and development, and early diagnosis of cirrhosis and liver cancer relevant to NAFLD in the future. At the same time, the NAFLD group of children and adolescents should not be ignored.