According to a report submitted to the Minister of Health, the scandals of the Mediator or Diane 35 are just the tree that hides the forest from the diversion of drugs. In this report given to Minister Marisol Touraine by Prof. Bernard Bégaud and Prof. Dominique Costagliola, the two pharmacologists show, with supporting examples, that “France is one of the countries in which the prescriptions and irrational use of the drug are most prevalent ”.
Crisis of the pick, the anti-diabetic drug diverted as an appetite suppressant and that of Diane 35, an anti-acne treatment diverted as a contraceptive, have shown that a structure responsible for monitoring the correct use of the drug would not be useless. The two pharmacologists also recommend the creation of such a structure “which would ensure a watch on the major classes of drugs” in order to verify that there is no slippage in the prescriptions.
By way of example, Professors Bégaud and Costagliola point out the difference between the level of consumption of benzodiazepines which is particularly high in France (114.3 million boxes consumed per year, or practically 2 per inhabitant!) And the recommended treatment times. . “The durations of consumption of psychotropic drugs are 2 to 7 times longer than the recommended durations of treatment. However, this overconsumption has not been the subject of particular attention, simply because with a rate of generics of more than 53%, it represents only 0.7% of the total amount of drug sales. However, the consequences of such misuse are much greater than the mere cost of reimbursing the drugs concerned. “
Inappropriate prescriptions and the irrational use of drugs are certainly not the prerogative of our country: the average of 20% of prescriptions outside Marketing Authorization (especially for oral contraceptives and psychotropic drugs) is classically advanced for many European countries. and North America. But according to the two pharmacologists, “France is one of the countries in which irrational prescriptions and use are the most prevalent”.
