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After an increase of 4 billion in June, the national turnover of subsidized prescription drugs increased by almost 2 billion guilders to 45.8 billion in July, according to a recent summary by Hiflylabs based on data from the National Insurance Fund of Health (NEAK).
In July, the average quantity of drugs was sold in national pharmacies. The month brought excellent drug sales in all respects. The prescription drug billing exceeds the average of 2019, the same period of the previous year, and even the values of June – begins his analysis Zsolt Virág, chairman of the board of Hiflylabs, who analyzes the pharmaceutical billing data.
Gross pharmaceutical sales in July amounted to HUF 45.8 billion, representing an increase of 4% compared to the previous month, an increase of 2.9% compared to the same period of the previous year and an increase of 3, 6% compared to the 2019 average. Overall, growth is 6.3 percent for the first seven months of 2020.
The increase is also typical for each drug group, both compared to the previous month and to the same period of the previous year, which, according to the analysis, may also indicate a reordering of drug use patterns.
What could be the reason?
Several factors contribute to the increase. For one thing, the population was already moving more freely in July, which could also be a common source of infectious diseases. At the same time, in the case of milder illnesses, postponed visits to the doctor in spring may have occurred. Interestingly, drug sales are increasing despite the fact that GPs still have a harder time accessing than during the normal period, so many people suffer from milder illnesses without prescription drugs, says an expert from Hiflylabs.
A regional analysis of the data shows that the agglomeration effect continues, that is, part of the traffic from the capital has moved to the vicinity of Budapest, but its effect weakens from month to month. In July, pharmaceuticals sales were able to increase everywhere except Pest County compared to the previous month, that is, the weight of Pest County is decreasing compared to the national turnover.
More Lake Balaton
However, compared to the previous year, Budapest continues to stand out among the ranks of the counties, the turnover in the capital decreased by 2.8 percent annually, compared to the 1.4 percent increase in the county of Pest. In general, there is still less shopping in the capital, but only a small part of this is reflected in the areas around the capital, partly due to seasonality.
Not only the crowding effect, but also the summer holidays had a strong effect on the Budapest figures. Compared to the previous month and July 2019, the turnover of Somogy and Veszprém counties increased markedly, by approximately 8 percent, which is clearly due to the fact that many people spent their summer holidays in the nearby Lake Balaton.
What medications were the most exhausted?
In terms of product types, the rotation of systemic anti-infectives was the one that increased the most on a monthly basis. This group includes, but is not limited to, antibiotics and antivirals. In the product group, despite the increase in July, the turnover is still relatively low, at least the July turnover is 6 percent lower than the value in July 2019, but the value in July is much lower than the 2019 average.
A closer look reveals that systemic anti-infectives follow a seasonal trajectory close to the season. The current low but rising value is expected to rise further in the next period. The product family rotation is unique in 2020, so the antibiotic rotation reached a much lower level than usual in the spring, which is largely due to spring distance measurements.
With the lifting of restrictions and the increase in the number of social contacts, the number of bacterial infections also began to increase rapidly, and a similar trend is shown, for example, in the spread of herpes. It is remarkable how drastically the restrictions introduced due to Covid, as well as the subsequent relaxation, affect the spread of other diseases as well. The rotation of antibiotics and antivirals is expected to increase even more in the next period, as starting school will further increase the chances of the spread of infectious diseases.
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