Use of OTC Medicines: An Alternative to Support the National Health System of Mexico

Abstract

Introduction: The aging of the population and epidemiological transition represent major challenges for developing countries. Mexico is experiencing an increase in the prevalence of chronic and degenerative diseases, which is resulting in higher expenses by the public health system. A possible response to contain these expenses is self health care with the use of overthe-counter medications (OTC) to treat the symptoms of frequent, mild and uncomplicated conditions under the established regulatory framework. To analyze this, an economic study was conducted in which two strategies were compared: conventional treatment in the health system versus self-care.
Methods: The costs for the management of nonspecific lumbago were evaluated in the Mexican Health System. Information on the incidence of the disease was obtained from specialized literature, as well as from the public records of Mexican institutions for 2017. Among the expenses considered for analysis were pharmacological management, outpatient care, emergency consultations, hospitalization, complication management, and the social cost. To assess the cost of self health care, the price of the corresponding (OTC) medicines paid by the user at the point of sale was also considered.
Results: In the hypothetical scenario of treating the same number of cases of the disease analyzed, the OTC self-care strategy showed greater economic efficiency as opposed to the usual institutional management of health care.
Discussion: The self-care strategy with OTC medicines generated significant savings for the Mexican Health System. This could potentially contribute to reducing the overload of demand for medical care in the public health system, thus contributing to its efficiency.