Access to High Cost Medicines: An Overview


2 Citations (Scopus)


High-cost medicines (HCMs) have been largely defined based on monetary value because of their potential to increase pharmaceutical spending for either the individual patient or healthcare systems. One of the biggest challenges encountered by many healthcare systems around the globe is to provide equitable access to HCMs while maintaining the sustainability of systems that are already constrained in resources. The global medicine spending is expected to increase with growing use of HCMs for an increasing number of diseases. Many newly developed medicines that offer therapeutic advantages for a range of diseases are reported to be efficacious, but are expensive for healthcare systems and/or patients compared to traditional medicines. Country’s wealth and/or affordability of the healthcare system has a direct relationship with patients’ access to HCMs. The developed markets are better resourced than developing countries and therefore are more likely to meet the demands for access to and use of HCMs. Nevertheless, all countries are facing the challenges of rationing and prioritising access to HCMs. Disproportional access to HCMs, particularly in nations where patient out-of-pocket costs largely support their treatment, might be particularly concerning
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationEquitable Access to High-Cost Pharmaceuticals
Number of pages10
ISBN (Electronic)9780128119457
Publication statusPublished - 2 Mar 2018

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