Ingreso en el hogar: empleo de medicamentos y sus efectos económicos

the pharmacological prescription was characterized in a group of patients admitted at home from july 2002 to june 2003 in 4 cuban geographical areas. costs per drugs, per patients and per admission cause were estimated. a partial economic evaluation of the cost description type was developed. the most common age groups were those under 1 year old, 40-59 and 60 and over. the respiratory affections proved to be the most frequent cause of admission. the antibiotics and antibacterials were the most prescribed, followed by analgesics and antipyretics. more than 80 % of the drugs were acquired in the community drug stores. the indication of more than 4 drugs was only observed in urban areas, not in metropolitan or rural areas. the mean of the drug cost per patient was between 5.85 and 12.67 pesos. it was observed a proportionally direct relation between the cost per patient and the number of drugs indicated. . a deeper study of the pharmacological prescription and of the cost-benefit ratio of the indicated schemes will lead to a more assumable service for the family from the economic point of view