Pharmaceutical expenditure in Sweden

Recently, the responsibility for prescribed pharmaceuticals in Sweden was transferred from national level to the regional health authorities (county councils). The purpose was that a closer integration and balance between pharmaceuticals and other factors of production in health care should produce better opportunities for a cost-effective use of the total health care resources. The purpose of this paper is to present a deeper analysis of pharmaceuticals as a production factor in Sweden, mainly during the 1990s, and to discuss the future development and future policy decisions in Sweden. Pharmaceuticals have increased their share of total health care expenditure in Sweden, from about 9% in 1990 to about 14% in 1995. The Swedish pharmaceutical market can be divided into sub-markets, where the prescription sub-market accounts for the greater part of pharmaceutical expenditure. Further, a few disease categories account for a larger fraction of the cost of prescribed pharmaceuticals. The importance of pharmaceuticals as a production factor also differs between different age groups. Several factors are expected to contribute to a future increase in Swedish pharmaceutical expenditure, for instance an ageing population and the rapid introduction of expensive new pharmaceuticals.