title: Access to antihypertensive agents in Brazil: evaluation of the "health has no price" program.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This article aims to evaluate access to antihypertensive agents during the first year of the "Health Has No Price" Program (Saúde Não Tem Preço [SNTP]) in Brazil.
  
  
  METHODS
  A longitudinal and observational study was performed based on the number of antihypertensive medications supplied in 55,000 private pharmacies distributed throughout the Brazilian territory during the period February 1, 2010, through January 31, 2012. The number of antihypertensive pills supplied in the first 12 months of the SNTP Program was compared with the number of pills supplied in the 12 months before its implementation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Six antihypertensive medicines showed an increase between 32% and 120% in the number of pills supplied in the first year of the program. In this same period, the growth of the Brazilian pharmaceutical market was ~13%. Additionally, 11 medicines containing the same active ingredients as the antihypertensive agents in the SNTP Program, but at concentrations not available for free, were analyzed; it was found that none showed a change >8%, and 5 showed a reduction in the number of pills supplied after the implementation of the SNTP Program. The analysis of 7 fixed-dose combinations not available in the SNTP Program that were formulated with the same active ingredients showed a change below the annual percentage growth of the Brazilian pharmaceutical market.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The SNTP Program may have contributed to increased access to antihypertensive medicines in Brazil.
authors.affiliation: Graduate Program in Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Sorocaba, Sorocaba, Sao Paulo State, Brazil.
authors.forename: João Leopoldo Oliveira
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Araujo
authors.affiliation: Graduate Program in Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Sorocaba, Sorocaba, Sao Paulo State, Brazil.
authors.forename: Mariana Donato
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Pereira
authors.affiliation: Graduate Program in Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Sorocaba, Sorocaba, Sao Paulo State, Brazil.
authors.forename: Fernando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: de Sá Del Fiol
authors.affiliation: Graduate Program in Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Sorocaba, Sorocaba, Sao Paulo State, Brazil. Electronic address: silvio.barberato@prof.uniso.br.
authors.forename: Silvio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Barberato-Filho
mesh_terms: D000959:Antihypertensive Agents / Q000191:economics* / Q000600:supply & distribution*; D001938:Brazil; D002626:Chemistry, Pharmaceutical; D003132:Commerce; D005252:Fees, Pharmaceutical; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000639:trends; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D015397:Program Evaluation
chemical_list: D000959:Antihypertensive Agents
keywords: access to health services; antihypertensive agents; cardiovascular; health policy; health system