La variabilidad de la prescripción médica en oncología y el coste farmacéutico

The control of hospital pharmaceutical expenditure is a priority objective in public health, and cytostatics represent a high percentage of such expenditure. There have been proposed structural reforms in hospitals which, despite of being quite attractive in theory, have not been implemented but in just a few occasions. On the other side, opinions and attitudes of hospital managers and oncologists differ due to multiple reasons. In this article, we review the current state of therapeutic efficiency in most frequent neoplasms and the impact on the costs provoked by the variability in prescription, appreciating the fact that treatment patterns of similar activity have instead very different costs. We also analyze the complex relationship between the pharmaceutical industry and the medical oncology teams, proposing an alternative management model, with a responsible implication of the healthcare professional and with the best possible care for the patient, the basis of our healthcare system