Posted by Michael Wonder on 07 Dec 2018
Underuse of innovative medicines in Germany: A justification for government intervention?
6 December 2018 - The German market for innovative medicines is characterised by simultaneous underuse and overuse.
In order to address these deficits and improve decision making by physicians, the German parliament recently passed a law which mandates implementing reimbursement decisions on innovative medicines in the prescription software for physicians. This article discusses the political process leading to the law as well as its rationale in view of economic theory.
Based on the considerably larger extent of underuse than overuse of innovative medicines in Germany this article predicts that the law will lead to an increase in sales by the pharmaceutical industry.
