WHO Memberstates and Medicines Price Information
Several WHO member states make price information on selected pharmaceutical products publicly available through web sites. The purpose and content of this information differs from site to site. By providing these links, WHO does not offer endorsement of any particular piece or set of price information, nor does it accept responsibility for the accuracy or timeliness of the information contained in individual sites.
The Schedule of Pharmaceutical Benefits for approved pharmacists and medical practitioners This Schedule provides information on the arrangements for the prescribing of pharmaceutical benefits by medical practitioners and participating dental practitioners, and the supply of pharmaceutical benefits by approved pharmacists, approved medical practitioners and approved hospital authorities.
The pricing of new drug products and review of prices for existing products is carried out by the Pharmaceutical Benefits Pricing Authority. The Schedule is published three times a year, effective 1 April, 1 August and 1 December each year.
The Austrian Health Institute (ÖBIG) is commissioned by law to fulfill research and planning functions in the field of healthcare and environmental protection. One of its services offered is the Pharma Price Information service (PPI) which provides, upon request and against payment, fast, reliable and independent price information about pharmaceuticals in all 15 European Union (EU) member states and Switzerland. This information service is offered for:
a) Standard query: request for price information of a certain pharmaceutical product from a manufacturer, on the market of EU member states. Payment is Euro 40.00 per member state.
b) Special query: request for price information (either manufacturer, wholesaler or pharmacy, with/without VAT) for all pharmaceutical products, which contain a certain active ingredient, independent of pack sizes, on the market of EU member states. Payment is Euro 100.00 per member state.
Databank of Health Purchases (BPS) provides updated information in order to compare prices of medicines, hospital and medical materials, input and services used in the health system. The BPS serves as a tool to regulate the market, meaning a significant development in transparency of actions and information in the public sector of the Unified Health System of Brazil. It helps in improving the management of purchases needed for the health system.
The Patented Medicines Pricing Review Board (PMPRB) is an independent quasi-judicial body, created in 1987 under the Patent Act to protect consumer interests in light of increased patent protection for pharmaceuticals. Its mandate is three-fold: (1) to ensure that the prices charged by manufacturers of patented medicines in Canada are not excessive; (2) to report annually to Parliament on the price trends of all medicines in Canada; and (3) to report annually to Parliament on the ratio of research & development expenditures to sales by patentees.
When new patented medications appear on the Canadian market there is a maximum introductory price set for these medications by the federal Patented Medicine Prices Review Board (PMPRB). The PMPRB also limits the rate of rise of prices to the inflation rate. To get more information on the PMPRB you can go to its web site.
However, payment for drugs is not done on a national basis but on a provincial basis. That means that each province has its own formulary which lists drugs that it will cover along with the prices that it will pay. Formularies and prices differ from province to province, although prices are usually quite similar.
The Ontario Drug Benefit Formulary/Comparative Drug Index (Formulary/CDI) was first introduced in 1976 by the Ministry of Health in order to define the benefits provided for eligible recipients. The Formulary/CDI was developed in consultation with the ministry's external expert drug advisory committee, the Drug Quality and Therapeutics Committee (DQTC). For many years, the Formulary/CDI has set the provincial standard for price, quality and interchangeability of drug products. The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care has liaised with the Ontario Medical Association, the Ontario Pharmacists' Association, the Ontario College of Pharmacists, pharmaceutical manufacturers, and other professional and consumer groups as required on the content and policies embodied in this publication. To see the prices in Ontario go to the following web site and you can download a copy of the latest version of the formulary.
The Danish Medicines Agency is an agency under the Ministry of the Interior and Health. It administers the legislation on medicinal products, reimbursement on medicinal products, pharmacies, medical equipment and euphoriant substances. The main objective of The Danish Medicines Agency is to ensure that medicinal products that are used in Denmark are of satisfactory quality, are safe to use and have the desired effect.
Search or prices and package sizes for individual drugs (lægemiddelpriser) using brand name or ATC code. About reimbursement ( in English).
The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) is an organization of the Government of India which was established, inter alia, to fix/ revise the prices of controlled bulk drugs and formulations and to enforce prices and availability of the medicines in the country, under the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 1995. The organization is also entrusted with the task of recovering amounts overcharged by manufacturers for the controlled drugs from the consumers. It also monitors the prices of decontrolled drugs in order to keep them at reasonable levels.
Italy (in Italian)
Ministero della Salute has a database on registered pharmaceutical products and consumer prices
The governmental non-profit organization "Medicines Pricing and Reimbursement Agency" was established on 5 November 1998. The main objective of the Agency is to ensure the enforcement and the establishment of the reimbursement system of medicines and medical products for primary care. It provides prices of the positive list.
The Drug Control Authority (DCA), Ministry of Health, Malaysia, maintains a database which is a cumulative list of registered drugs since 1985. This list consists of information including registration number, product name, name of product registration holder, name of the manufacturer and recommended retail prices.
PHARMAC, the Pharmaceutical Management Agency, is a Crown entity established by the New Zealand Public Health and Disability Act 2000. PHARMAC is directly accountable to the Minister of Health. PHARMAC's overall objective is to secure for eligible people in need of pharmaceuticals, the best health outcomes that are reasonably achievable from pharmaceutical treatment and from within the funding provided.
PHARMAC manages a list of subsidised pharmaceuticals, the New Zealand Pharmaceutical Schedule, on behalf of the Crown. It lists around 2600 prescription medicines and related products subsidized by the Government, via the Ministry of Health. The Pharmaceutical Schedule is published three times a year and updated monthly. Pharmaceutical suppliers may apply to PHARMAC to have a medicine listed on the Pharmaceutical Schedule for subsidy, usually following Ministry of Health approval of the product. PHARMAC's decisions are made with due reference to PHARMAC's Decision Criteria. Medicines can be searched by their groupings in the Interactive Pharmaceutical Schedule or searched by the chemical or brand name of the medicine and prices of similar pharmaceuticals are compared.
Medicines can be searched by their groupings in the Interactive Pharmaceutical Schedule or searched by the chemical or brand name of the medicine and prices of similar pharmaceuticals are compared.
The Norwegian Medicines Agency is the national regulatory authority on assessment and surveillance of new and existing medicines in Norway. The Norwegian Medicines Agency reports to the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs.
Maximum prices for prescription-only medicines in Norway are set according to the regulation "Forskrift om legemidler" (chapter 12, in Norwegian). The main rule when pricing a medicinal product in Norway is that it be set at the mean of the three lowest market prices of that product in a selection of countries. The price which is set by the Norwegian Medicines Agency is the permitted maximum market price to the pharmacist. The product can be freely sold at a lower price than the maximum price. A price database is available (Norwegian only).
Slovenia
Slovenian prices are published monthly at the JAZMP website
Spain: (in Spanish)
The Consejo General de Colegios Officiales de Farmacéuticos has a database of consumer prices.
As of 1 October 2002 a new independent government agency, the Pharmaceutical Benefits Board (PBB) or Läkemedelsförmånsnämnden (LFN), replaced the National Social Insurance Board in the task of pricing medicines and other medical items covered by the high-cost threshold for pharmaceutical purchases. The objective is that the PBB is to contribute to a rational and cost-effective public use of medicinal products. In a broader perspective, the Boad will subsequently contribute to achieving the national goals for health and medical care and greater effectiveness of the priority-setting guidelines for helth and medical care and greater effectiveness of the priority-setting guidelines for health and medical care as set forth by Parliament. Pharmaceutical benefits will continue to be government regulated. However, all prescription drugs will no longer receive a fixed sales price, and thus automatically be approved for subsidy. The PBB is responsible for determining if a drug or other items covered by the pharmaceutical benefits scheme is to be subsidized. The PBB will also be in charge of reviewing all current medicinal products and determining whether the product will continue to be listed on the pharmaceutical benefits scheme.The prices of branded prescription medicines supplied to the National Health Service (NHS) by the pharmaceutical industry are indirectly controlled through the Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme (PPRS). It is an agreement negotiated between the UK Government and the pharmaceutical industry represented by the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI). This PPR scheme , administered by the Department of Health, controls the profits that pharmaceutical companies are allowed to make through their trade with the NHS, whilst recognizing that the industry needs to earn enough money to enable it to develop and market new and improved medicines. The PPRS applies to all licensed, branded medicines sold to the NHS (community and hospitals). It does not cover generic medicines nor over the counter (OTC) medicines sold to the general public. Price information is also provided in the British National Formulary.
US Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration:
The mission of the veterans healthcare system is to serve the needs of America's veterans by providing primary care, specialized care, and related medical and social support services. A number of offices work together to make the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) an efficient and patient-centered health care system.
FSS (Federal Supply Schedule) is a multiple award, multi-year federal contract mechanism. Pricing is negotiated based on how vendors do business with their commercial customers. The FSS program also provides additional opportunities for savings to the customers with negotiated quantity and tier discounts.
VA national contracts are requirement-type contracts that offer additional pricing concessions in return for commitment to potential vendors. The VA national contract program results in pricing lower than FSS and is used for VA’s standardization efforts. The VA national contracts program is a separate contract vehicle from the FSS contract program. There are 8 primary price files available for downloading.Medicaid is the largest program providing medical and health-related services to America's poorest people since 1965. It is a jointly funded cooperative venture between the Federal and State governments to assist states in the provision of adequate medical care to eligible needy persons. Within broad national guidelines which the Federal government provides, each of the states: establishes its own eligibility standards; determines the type, amount, duration, and scope of services; sets the rate of payment for services; and administers its own program. Thus, the Medicaid varies considerably from state to state.
In 1987, regulations limited the amount which Medicaid could reimburse for drugs with available generic drugs under the federal upper limit (FUL) programme. These limits are intended to assure that the Federal government acts as a prudent buyer of drugs. The concept of the FUL program is to achieve savings by taking advantage of the current market prices.
Federal Upper Limit reimbursement prices for “multi-source” medicines in the USA are listed in Transmittal number 37 and modifications.
Kentucky Medicaid Services publishes an easily-accessible set of regular updates of the FUL programme.