IRRATIONAL PRESCRIBING OF MEDICINE AND INCREASING BURDEN OF MEDICAL COST: A CHALLENGE FOR POOR HOUSEHOLD IN ACCESSING HEALTH IN INDIA

Abstract

Medicine is one of the most critical contributors to life expectance. However, essential medicine is the foremost cause of death and disability in developing countries that can be prevented, cured, and improved with cost-effective essential medication. Besides this, thousands of people don’t have access to essential medicine. The majority of the people spent their huge share of income on medicine, which traps them into a vicious circle of poverty. The huge prescription of medication is a leading cause of treatment delay. Further, essential medicines save lives and enhance the health of the population but only when they are accessible at an inexpensive, reasonable, and affordable cost and used properly. Despite certain policy measures and programs, a huge chunk of the population doesn’t have access to essential medicine, and this remains the pivotal public health issue in India. The availability of harmless, effective, affordable, and quality medicines for all is one of the most important targets for sustainable development goals. For acquiring universal health coverage, access to safe, effective, and affordable essential medicine is a paramount aspect. The main aim of this paper is to examine the significance and factors of irrational prescription. It also analyzes the trends of the burden of medical cost and its socio-economic impact on households. This paper is based on a secondary date. It is estimated that by improving access to existing essential medicines and vaccines, about 10 million lives per year could be saved. The studies revealed that as much as 25%–70% of overall health expenditure in developing countries is spent on medicines whereas, around 10% of health expenditure in most high-income countries is consumed by medicines. In India, medicines consumed a higher share of total health expenditure, over 43%. However, several studies depict that more than three lakh crore rupees that households spent on health, and about 42% of the total out-of-pocket expenditure (OOP) went in the procurement of medicines. Moreover, households spent around 28% of the OOP spending in private hospitals, and this constitutes 62.6% of the total OOP health spending in India, both government and private sources.