title: [Generic drugs in the medical-economic context of drug prescriptions].
abstract: REIMBURSABLE DRUGS: The reimbursement, or coverage of pharmaceutical costs by the sickness benefits is governed in the French system by two conditions: the drugs must have been prescribed, and must be listed in the reimbursable drug list. Inscription in the reimbursable drugs list requires approval by the transparency commission, sole commission capable of assessing the medical service rendered (MSR) by the drugs and to propose a reimbursement rate of 65 or 35%. Exceptional drugs and those prescribed in the context of long-term treatments have a specific reimbursement status. ESTABLISHING THE PRICE: The coverage of drugs by the health insurance does not permit free pricing. The costs of drugs are established by the economic committee of health products (Comité Economique des Produits de Santé--CEPS), following approval by the transparency commission, who assesses the improvement in medical services rendered (IMSR) by new products, compared with existing products. THE ECONOMIC ADVANTAGES OF GENERICS: Physicians must be as economical as possible in terms of quality, safety and efficacy of the care they provide. Moreover, to be reimbursed by the social services, a generic must provide improved medical services or lead to savings in the cost of treatment. In such conditions one can conceive that the price of a generic (which does not provide any improvement in medical services compared with the original drug) is legitimately cheaper than the original product, and source of economy for better allocation of available funds. TWO MOTIVATING MEASURES: However, the French generic market is one of the least developed among industrialized countries. Presently, the volume of generics only represents 5% of the French drug market. Its further development is foreseen within the framework of all the plans for medicalized control of health costs. Other than the classical motives that encourage prescription of generics, i.e., citizens' awareness, labelling and the control by the French medicines agency, new determinating measures in our right for health are: the pharmacists' right to substitute and the physicians' authorization and incitement then to prescribe a product under its international non-proprietary name.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de thérapeutique, Faculté de médecine de Marseille et INSERM U 379, 13385 Marseille.
authors.forename: Gilles
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bouvenot
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Villani
authors.forename: Julien
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bouvenot
mesh_terms: D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000191:economics; D011307:Drug Prescriptions / Q000191:economics; D016568:Drugs, Generic / Q000191:economics; D005602:France; D012051:Reimbursement Mechanisms
chemical_list: D016568:Drugs, Generic