Purpose
There is scarce data about antiglaucomatous prescribing patterns in Portugal. We aim to describe and analyze the nationwide prescription of glaucoma medications in Portugal in the year of 2015. Ultimately, our goal is to identify improvement opportunities for the system and the patient, in particular.
Methods
Cross‐sectional study. A common electronic drug prescription system is used by all hospitals and clinics in Portugal. We used this national database and included all hypotensive drug prescriptions in 2015. Demographic data, medications prescribed (in isolation and fixed combination) and healthcare related costs were provided in an encrypted form and anonymously extracted. Statistical analyses were performed using STATA 13.0.
Results
A total of 236.234 subjects (56.8% women) were prescribed one or more drugs. Mean age was 71.6 ± 13.3 [range 0; 108] years. Of the ~800.000 prescriptions, 52.3% were from general practitioners and 38.7% from ophthalmologists. The most prescribed drugs were latanoprost (20.0%), timolol/dorzolamide (13.7%), brimonidine (9.0%) and timolol (8.8%). Single‐dosed preparations were prescribed in significantly younger patients (mean age = 68.7 ± 0.07) than other formulations (mean age = 71.8 ± 0.01), p < 0.001. Single‐agent and combination therapies accounted for 14.5€ M and 8.5€ M in costs for the healthcare system, respectively.
Conclusions
This nationwide study revealed prescription's trends and disclosed the burden of the disease in terms of its medical management. A cost‐effective approach in glaucoma is essential for the whole system sustainability and should be promoted by every healthcare stakeholder.