Public procurement of medicines: scoping review of the scientific literature in South America

Medicines have a major impact on governments, health care providers and household spending. Data from the Brazilian Health Satellite Account show that total government expenditures with medicines reached US$ 3,268,468 in 2015, representing a 54% increase over 2010 expenditures. Nevertheless, this represent around half of the household health expenditure, with a greater impact on the poorest families [4]. Barcelo et al. [5] estimated the per capita cost to treat diabetes mellitus in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) between US$ 1088 and US$ 1818 annually. In the same period, the average per capita of health care expenditure was US$ 1061 in LAC and medicines as a single item were responsible for a total of US$ 11–18 billion.

Medicines have a major impact on governments, health care providers and household spending. Data from the Brazilian Health Satellite Account show that total government expenditures with medicines reached US$ 3,268,468 in 2015, representing a 54% increase over 2010 expenditures. Nevertheless, this represent around half of the household health expenditure, with a greater impact on the poorest families [4]. Barcelo et al. [5] estimated the per capita cost to treat diabetes mellitus in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) between US$ 1088 and US$ 1818 annually. In the same period, the average per capita of health care expenditure was US$ 1061 in LAC and medicines as a single item were responsible for a total of US$ 11–18 billion.