[Definition of high-priced and very high-priced drugs for Argentina]

New drugs contribute to improving people's quality of life with more precise and effective treatments; however, their high acquisition prices continually put the sustainability of the health system and equitable access at risk throughout the world. A starting point for its approach should be to delimit the concept of "high-price" and "very high-price" drugs, but there is no global consensus and it is not defined for Argentina. The objective was to establish the definition of high-price and very high-price drugs for Argentina through a panel with modified Delphi technique with representatives of the health system.

A descriptive study was conducted with a qualitative-quantitative approach in three phases that include a Phase 1 systematic review of the literature, a Phase 2 analysis of the profile of selected drugs, and a Phase 3 panel.

For the systematic review, 1895 publications were identified, of which 23 were included with some type of definition of high-cost or high-price drugs. A clinical and economic analysis was performed for ten reference drugs that provided examples to the panel. The modified Delphi panel consisted of a first round of 14 and a second round of consensus of 27 representatives, which resulted in the agreed definition.

This work collect the experience and vision of representatives of important institutions in our country and provides a key definition for addressing these technologies.