Perceptions from pharmaceutical stakeholders on how the pharmaceutical budget is allocated in South Africa

South Africa faces a heavy burden of disease, which impacts resource allocation. The needs of South Africa require efficient translation into pharmaceutical expenditure for medicine provision, to ensure availability of medicines. Given that South Africa faces various challenges with medicine provision accompanied by rising pharmaceutical expenditure, this study aimed to report on the considerations and methods used to determine the healthcare budget for South Africa, and how it is translated into pharmaceutical expenditure for medicines provision on the Standard Treatment Guidelines and Essential Medicines List and non-essential medicines in the public sector.

Qualitative, semi-structured interviews guided by a discussion guide were conducted with seven pharmaceutical officials involved in the budget and resource allocation process, between October 2019 and March 2020. Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Once the interviews were coded by the first author they were verified by the other authors. Data were thematically analysed.

This study depicted the knowledge and participation of pharmaceutical services in the budget process. The National and Provincial Department of Health have improved pharmaceutical budgeting by making strides towards a collaborative, informed, and more evidence-based approach. Pharmaceutical services have roles in advising on requirements; commenting where necessary, constantly monitor and taking accountability for their budget. The main considerations that determined the budget included population size and growth, historical expenditure, the extra heavy burden of disease and incidence rate, demand data and forecasting. The local and provincial pharmacy and therapeutics committee play a vital role in monitoring the budget and expenditure; ensuring adherence to guidelines; controlling the extent to which non-Essential Medicine List items are used and advising accordingly.

This was the first study to report on the decision and thought processes of the healthcare budget and its translation into pharmaceutical expenditure for medicine provision in South Africa. Many factors were considered to inform the budget, with the Standard Treatment Guideline and Essential Medicines List being the principal guide for medicine provision. This process was well-controlled and monitored by the pharmaceutical therapeutics committee. Documenting the South African experience can assist other countries in their budget decisions for medicines.