Increased antimicrobial consumption following reimbursement reform in Turkey.

OBJECTIVES This study examined antibiotic utilization patterns in Turkey between 2001 and 2006. METHODS A comprehensive collection and analysis of Turkish antibiotic data from 2001 to 2006 was conducted. The anatomical therapeutic chemical (ATC) classification and the defined daily dose (DDD) methodology were used to calculate antibiotic consumption. Data were presented as DDD/1000 inhabitant-days, and the relation between antimicrobial consumption and governmental reimbursement policy was evaluated. RESULTS Total utilization of antibiotics increased from 14.62 to 31.36 DDD/1000 inhabitant-days between 2001 and 2006. The largest increase took place after the implementation of social insurance reform (SIR) in 2005, as evidenced by the DDD ratio increasing 1.87-fold after SIR went into effect. The largest increase occurred in the prescription of penicillins, from 7.13 in 2001 to 14.09 in 2006. CONCLUSIONS In Turkey, antibiotic consumption increased markedly in recent years, in a close relationship, to a new reimbursement policy following the implementation of the SIR, which facilitated the prescription and consumption of drugs compared with the earlier SIR conditions.