title: Evaluation of public drug provision policies for type 2 diabetes mellitus in Argentina: a case study.
abstract: In Argentina, the provision of drugs for patients suffering from type 2 diabetes mellitus who lack health insurance is carried out through public programs. In the Province of Buenos Aires, the national program Remediar and the provincial program PRODIABA (from the Spanish Programa de Prevención, Diagnóstico y Tratamiento del Paciente Diabético) coexist. This study estimates the percentage of adults in the municipality of Bahia Blanca (Province of Buenos Aires) who suffer from type 2 diabetes mellitus and lack health insurance, thus satisfying their need for oral antidiabetic treatments within the public sector. It is a quantitative study that assesses the need and demand for public provision. The results indicate that: 1) the greatest percentage of demand is satisfied at the primary health care level; 2) the province of Buenos Aires funds the largest share of the pills, followed by the municipal and the national levels; 3) the local government intervenes to satisfy the demand and 4) the total public provision covers approximately 25% of the overall need in relation to the average consumption. This shows that despite the presence of these public programs, the provision is insufficient and thus requires the intervention of the local government even though economic theory does not recommend the decentralization of drug purchases.
authors.affiliation: Bachelor of Economics. Doctoral Fellow at the Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET). Teaching assistant of Statistics, Department of Mathematics, Universidad Nacional del Sur, Argentina. meugilorz@hotmail.com
authors.forename: María Eugenia
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Elorza
authors.affiliation: Bachelor of Economics. PhD in Economics. Assistant researcher at the Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas(CONICET). Associate Professor of Health Economy, Department of Economy, Universidad Nacional del Sur, Argentina.
authors.forename: Nebel Silvana
authors.initials: NS
authors.lastname: Moscoso
authors.affiliation: Bachelor of Economics. Doctoral Fellow at the Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET). Teaching Assistant of Health Research, Department of Health Sciences, Universidad Nacional del Sur, Argentina.
authors.forename: Nadia Vanina
authors.initials: NV
authors.lastname: Ripari
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001118:Argentina; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000191:economics; D006291:Health Policy; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents / Q000191:economics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D017057:Medically Uninsured; D008875:Middle Aged; D009313:National Health Programs / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015397:Program Evaluation; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents
keywords: Diabetes Mellitus; Public Policies; Decentralization; Health Services Needs and Demand; Argentina