The jar in Sarepta: on drugs and security
Bjørndal, A.
Tidsskrift for den Norske Laegeforening Tidsskrift for Praktisk Medicin Ny Raekke 109(27): 2778-2781
1989
ISSN/ISBN: 0029-2001 PMID: 2815010 Document Number: 338556
The costs of necessary drugs used by patients over a period of time are reimbursed by the social security system in Norway. Everybody should receive the drugs they need, independent of their personal financial situation. The article describes the present regulations, such as guidelines for doctors applying for reimbursement on behalf of their patients. The social security system spent NOK 1,700 million on drugs in 1988, an average of NOK 413 per inhabitant. The regional variations are considerable. The rapid growth in expenditures on drugs over the last 15 years is not a result of increased prescribing and consumption of drugs. It is mainly a consequence of a marked shift to newer and more expensive drugs.