Monday, August 5, 2019

Benefits Of International Reference Pricing China And Japan

By Betty Sanders


The cost of healthcare is ever on the rise. As countries struggle to provide universal access to healthcare, more and more people are falling into the bracket of those who cannot access such services. One of the main barriers to universal access to healthcare has been identified as the high cost of medicines. Hence, it is important for governments to ensure that medicines are affordable. One of the ways of doing this is using the IRP. Among the countries that have tried International Reference Pricing China and Japan take the lead because of its realized potential.

Such a system ensures a streamlined cost of healthcare. Disparities in charges often exist where there is no control. For example, the same drug might be sold by a big margin between two different regions in the same country. With this system, however, the price of a drug is guaranteed to be the same whether you are in Eastern or western China.

This system facilitates market access. IRP policies increase the interconnection of markets. The Asian market is huge, and countries stand to benefit from trading across borders. When prices are aligned, it ensures that the same products can be sold across the border at almost the same costs. This not only widens the market, but also allows countries to specialize in different areas of production.

Companies no longer have monopoly over prices. While drug manufacturers still hold a considerable grip on the price rod, they are no longer lone rangers in the game. There are deep consultations and clear guidelines on prices. Hence, they should already know how much a particular drug is likely to cost even before it is released to the market.

Patients also stand to get better treatment. Most patients keep away from hospitals because they know that costs are way beyond their reach. However, when prices are capped, there is a maximum amount that the patent can spend. This will increase their confidence in treatment and increase access.

Referencing is critical in reducing the prices of medicines. There are many ways in which governments can regulate the costs of medicines. However, IRP is found to be the most suitable because it considers several issues to ensure that while patients benefit, the manufactures also do not lose.

IRP is simple and cheap. Many systems fail at the implementation stage. This is because they are rigorous and require a lot of information to be implemented successfully. However, when countries share similar economic and geographic environments such as China, and Japan do, they can benefit from IRP greatly.

The system is easy to implement. The most important tool in the implementation of this system is communication. Once the relevant IR policies have been developed, they only need to be communicated to the drug manufacturers and other stakeholders for implementation to begin. This is not only easy, but also cheap.

The IRP is gaining international recognition as more and more countries begin to adopt it. This system is ideal for countries like China and Japan. This is because it will ensure that no country pays more or less in the region.




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