Industrialists call on presidential candidates to include the use of self-medication in their program.
“Selfcare and self-medication are not big problems” is the slogan of the new Afipa campaign (French association of the pharmaceutical industry for responsible self-medication) launched on Monday. This aims to raise awareness among the French and politicians of the interests of selfcare (1) for the community. As such, she wants to challenge the presidential candidates so that selfcare is taken into account in their programs for 2017.
This operation is based on a multi-media system comprising: a campaign in the daily national press to invite all stakeholders to the debate; an open letter and a dummy medicine box accompanied by a leaflet, sent by name to French political decision-makers; and a radio information program for the general public to extol the benefits of this medical treatment.
4.8% growth in self-care
“Given the current health context, the 2017 elections represent a major opportunity to promote selfcare as a public health asset. This high point in French political life must lead to a change of direction and a consideration of selfcare – through the development of self-medication – in the government’s health strategy ”, hopes Dominique Giulini, president of the Afipa.
February 3, the latter recalled, in addition, that this choice to take care alone appeals more and more to the French. The growth of self-care is indeed + 4.8% in value compared to 2015 (or € 3,883 million). And AFIPA to drive home the point by indicating that the gastroenteritis epidemic of December 2016 illustrates “the self-medication reflex of patients to treat their mild ailments”.
This resulted in + 21% attendance in French pharmacies for the month of December alone compared to the average for the year (2). “Self-medication can thus perfectly regulate the course of treatment for benign pathologies and must be the first step”, reacts Dominique Giulini. He therefore regrets that, in this area, France is still lagging behind at European level.
1.5 billion euros in savings
In this context, the challenge for the pharmaceutical industry is therefore to demonstrate that self-medication, and more broadly self-care, constitutes a response adapted to the new aspirations of the French, but also a lasting solution “to maintain the solidarity financing of serious ailments. and / or long term, ”writes Afipa. The association projects that the development of self-medication would generate savings of 1.5 billion euros in one year.
As a reminder, in March 2016, Afipa made several proposals in its manifesto aimed at developing self-medication. The measures were based on three pillars: – develop the available self-medication offer by defining a list of benign pathologies and deleting more molecules; – inform and train patients through public information campaigns and involve health professionals in this reform; – ensure financial accessibility for all by integrating self-medication expenses into the CMU / C and by applying a VAT rate adapted to 2.1%.
(1) Afipa associates selfcare with 3 statuses of products sold in pharmacies and available without prescription (therefore not reimbursed) : self-medication, medical devices (MD) / In vitro diagnostic medical devices (IVDD), food supplements.
(2) Carried out using the Xpr-SO® panel of the company OpenHealth, a panel of 3,004 pharmacies representative of the French pharmacy stock. Results in mainland France excluding Corsica. Data excludes prescription sales. Indicators produced from self-medication sales on the advice of the pharmacist.
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