Analysis of trends in prescribing patients for mental disorders and dispensing medicines from pharmacy under the program «Affordable medicines»

The government program «Affordable Medicines» currently includes 481 medications (excluding insulin medications and medical devices), the number of medications for the treatment of patients with mental disorders is 118 (24.5%). The number of doctors registered in the field of «Psychological and psychiatric care» is 12,979 primary care doctors (general practitioners – family doctors, pediatricians, district pediatricians and therapists) and 3,585 specialized medical care doctors (narcologists, district narcologists, psychiatrists, including children's, psychologists, psychotherapists). The number of pharmacies that have an agreement with the National Health Service of Ukraine and can dispense medications specifically for patients with mental disorders is 1,149 (80% of the total number of institutions participating in the reimbursement program. The aim of the work was to analyze trends in prescribing medications to patients with mental disorders by primary and specialized medical care physicians under the Affordable Medicines program, as well as in dispensing medications for the treatment of depression from pharmacies in the period from 2020 to 2024. According to the results of the analysis, the number of prescriptions written by specialized medical care doctors is increasing significantly, in particular for the combined international non-proprietary names Levodopa + Carbidopa, the increase in 2023–2024 was 34% of the total number of prescriptions for each year, respectively. At the same time, the statistics of prescriptions written by primary care doctors have a significantly lower growth trend. The number of medications dispensed for the treatment of depression from pharmacies increased by 32% in 2024 and is the maximum indicator for the period from 2020–2024, while retail prices per package for individual drugs decreased slightly in 2024. The analysis of prices for medicines for the treatment of patients with depressive disorders, which were dispensed from pharmacies, made it possible to establish certain trends: the presence of a wide range of medicines in different dosages under each international non-proprietary name, which ensures a reduction in fluctuations in sales prices and, accordingly, an increase in the availability of medicines for the patient. Detailed analysis of sales prices for drugs by international non-proprietary names Amitriptyline and Fluoxetine, which have been included in the reimbursement program since 2021, indicate the importance of the pricing problem for various groups of drugs included in the government program «Affordable Medicines».