Increased use as it is known to be a good study medicine
One person may receive more than 10,000 prescriptions in one year.
Recently, as social problems regarding side effects and misuse of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) treatments, known as ‘study-making drugs’, have emerged, non-covered prescriptions for ADHD treatments were found to amount to more than 45%.
Rep. Kim Yoon (Democratic Party of Korea, proportional representative), a member of the National Assembly Health and Welfare Committee, compared and analyzed data submitted by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, and found that 45.2% of all prescriptions for ADHD treatments such as ‘Concerta’ last year were not covered. It was announced on the 7th that it was prescribed.
According to data from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety’s integrated drug management system, as of 2023, the number of narcotic ADHD treatment prescriptions was 73.1 million, and the number of prescription patients was 221,000.
Comparing the amount of HIRA’s prescriptions for narcotic ADHD treatments and the number of patients with covered prescriptions for the same period: 43 million, or 167,000 patients, the number of non-covered prescriptions is estimated to be about 33 million, and the number of patients prescribed prescriptions is approximately 60,000.
When Rep. Kim’s office compared the amount of prescriptions and the number of prescription patients as of June of this year, the amount of non-covered prescriptions was estimated to be about 17 million (41.9%), and the number of non-covered patients was estimated to be about 100,000 (39.2%). This year, compared to last year, the proportion of non-covered patients decreased, but the ratio of the estimated number of non-covered patients increased by 11.8%, from 27.4% to 39.2%.
Patients who received non-reimbursed prescriptions appeared to take more medications. As of last year, the average number of prescriptions per person for covered patients was 249, but the average number of prescriptions per person for patients estimated to be non-covered was 545, which was 2.2 times higher.
Rep. Kim’s office said, “This can be seen as the fact that more non-ADHD patients are prescribed and taking narcotic drugs than patients diagnosed with ADHD and prescribed treatment,” adding, “Currently, ADHD treatments such as Concerta are used as drugs to improve studying and concentration.” “As it becomes known, the problem of misuse is becoming more serious,” he said.
As a result of Rep. Kim’s office confirming the amount of prescriptions by age from 2023 to June of this year through data, it was confirmed that 79.4% of this year’s estimated non-reimbursement amount was for people in their 10s to 30s.
When we checked the ratio of non-covered prescriptions among the total prescriptions for each age group, those in their teens, 20’s, and 30’s, which have the highest prescription volume, it was found that half of those in their 30’s received non-covered prescriptions. Those in their 20s were 42.6% and those in their teens were 31.4%.
The biggest problem is that due to such misuse and indiscriminate prescription, patients who really need ADHD treatment may not be prescribed it. Janssen Korea, the supplier of Concerta 27mg, the most widely used ADHD treatment, previously reported to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety that there was a temporary problem in supply after September 10 of this year due to the supply of raw materials, new license approval, and increased demand.
Rep. Kim’s office said, “Although not all non-reimbursed prescriptions can be considered misuse, cases of prescriptions suspected of drug dependence or addiction are being confirmed,” and “Patient A, in his 30s, received a total of 10,560 ADHD treatments at two medical institutions over the past year. “It turned out that it was prescribed 93 times,” he explained.
Another patient in his 20s, Mr. B, visited 13 medical institutions and was prescribed a total of 8,658 treatments. This year, there was a case where 2,190 ADHD medications were prescribed in one treatment.
Rep. Kim said, “There is a need to improve the system by thoroughly managing narcotic abuse so that treatment can be delivered to patients who really need it on time.” He added, “Although methylphenidate, an ADHD treatment, has been included in the narcotic abuse management, there are still many concerns.” said.
He continued, “It is time to consider policy considerations on linking and analyzing the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety’s integrated management system for narcotics and the HIRA’s narcotic drug reimbursement prescription details,” and added, “It is important to quickly identify and inspect suspected cases of excessive non-reimbursed narcotic prescriptions by linking the systems.” “He emphasized.
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2024-10-07 23:30:18