Health Campaign for the rational use of the 20,000 medications dispensed every day in La Rioja

Prevent benefits from turning into harm to the patient’s health and limit the economic impact. The Ministry of Health and Social Policies has developed a strategy to promote the rational use of medicines in La Rioja. “The ultimate goal is to improve the health, quality of life and safety of medicated patients in our community and, at the same time, contribute to the sustainability of pharmaceutical provision,” said Gonzalo Aparicio, general director of Benefits, this Monday. and Pharmacy during the information on the launch of the initiative in the region, where, as he recalled, around 20,000 medications are dispensed every day through the 156 Rioja pharmacy offices.

Aparicio, who has also detailed that last year around 155,000 Rioja patients took at least one chronic medication, has justified the new strategy in the increase in the use of medications due to the “increase in life expectancy, which translates into a greater prevalence of chronic and degenerative diseases; and the improvement of early diagnosis techniques. He has also defended the need to improve efficiency in the use of drugs due to the appearance of new medications “more effective and selective, but with great economic impact on the health system.”

The new work guide includes a study of the different groups of medications most commonly used in the healthcare field (analgesics, antidepressants, anxiolytics, cholesterol control medications…); an analysis of the evolution of pharmaceutical provision in La Rioja in the last decade; training and information actions aimed at prescribers and patients; the incorporation of computer tools that facilitate more efficient prescriptions for clinicians; the promotion of pharmacovigilance; and the establishment of a series of indicators to analyze compliance and effectiveness of the measures implemented.

Aparicio has defended the rational use of medications as a first-order strategy by recalling that, according to data from the World Health Organization (WHO), “only half of the population takes medication correctly, which leads to very negative effects on health. Furthermore, he has highlighted that, according to other studies, “up to 10% of hospital admissions have their origin in a problem related to medication.”

In this sense, the general director of Benefits and Pharmacy has advanced the implementation of activities and collaboration campaigns with pharmacies – in November there will be one on the rational use of antibiotics – and with Primary Care, to improve the prescription of more efficient medications. “One of the keys to success in the rational use of medicines is the co-responsibility of all agents involved in health, both public administrations and health professionals, patients, caregivers and citizens in general,” concluded Gonzalo Aparicio.