Because of Asthma Drug Facility (ADF), more than 50% reductions in annual costs for a patient with severe asthma became a reality, said Dr Bissell. There were enormous cost savings for countries that were using standardized long-term management of asthma and helping avoid unnecessary hospitalization.
But is cost of hospitalization for asthma patient significant? Cost of hospitalization for an asthma patient of 2 days 4 times a year was calculated to be Euros 269 in Benin, Euros 585 in Sudan, and Euros 852 in El Salvador.
Are asthma medications expensive? Dr Bissell shared data that "to buy one inhaler a patient spends: over 5 days wages in Ethiopia, over 8 days wages in Malawi, and almost 14 days in Madagascar. we must remember that a person with severe asthma needs approximately 16 inhalers a year!"
Lot more action needed on asthma
Dr Bissell recommended that at the country level, we need to write national asthma management guidelines, based on standardized management of asthma (pro-equity) and essential medicines. We also need to get WHO essential medicines on to the national EMLs. Countries must resist undue pharmaceutical influence in policy making particularly related to setting up EMLs. Countries must strengthen and monitor procurement, distribution, prescription and education practices on asthma.
Bobby Ramakant, Citizen News Service - CNS
(Follow him on Twitter: @CNS_Health and @bobbyramakant)
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