Russians began to massively save on medicines and diagnose themselves

Despite the fact that medicines are essentials, many Russians start saving their family budget with them. There are even those who are ready to give up medicines in favor of gadgets or clothes, but more often the situation is banal: medicines are becoming more expensive, and budgets cannot keep up with them. As a result, the number of those who deny themselves even the necessary therapy is growing. A recent survey showed that 68% of compatriots entered the regime of strict drug economy. One in five is ready to spend money only on what is vital.

A third of the population (34%) spends more than 2,000 rubles on medicines every month. 7% of respondents lay out more than 5 thousand rubles for this item of expenditure. The rest are less than a thousand. 38% of respondents are purposefully looking for a pharmacy with low prices, but 54% prefer a pharmacy closer to home. So far, only 8% of the population use marketplaces to buy drugs.

To save money, every second survey participant is looking for more affordable analogues (generics) of original drugs.

At the same time, if a person considers a health problem not so serious, most often he will not go to the doctor, but will buy medicines at his own discretion – 73% of the population will do this. 13% in such cases will rely on advertising or advice from a pharmacist in a pharmacy. Only 14% of the respondents admitted that they consider self-treatment unacceptable and would not purchase medicines without consulting a doctor.

By the way, at the end of April, a similar survey was conducted by the Public Opinion Foundation in 53 regions of the Russian Federation. According to him, 62% of Russians felt the rise in prices for medicines over the past year. For example, in the Voronezh region, according to the monitoring of prices for drugs conducted by Voronezhstat, an increase in the cost of drugs in pharmacies by 2.5 times (!) Over the past 16 months was recorded. So, if in January 2022 the average price for popular cough tablets in local pharmacies was 120 rubles, then in April 2023 the medicine cost already 296 rubles. The rise in prices for analgin for a year and four months amounted to 67%, for validol 35%, local media write. The authorities are already openly advising residents of the region not to spend money on original drugs and be content with generics. In many cases, this is indeed a solution to the problem: doctors say that often generics are not inferior in quality to original drugs, there are a lot of sites where you can find all generics of a drug by its international non-proprietary name.

And yet not always. For example, as neurologist Helen Mkhitaryan says, 4 drugs are registered in Russia for the treatment of dementia, and each has generics, but it cannot be said that the effectiveness of some of them is the same as that of the originals.

As Victoria Presnyakova, director of the SRO Association of Independent Pharmacies, head of the Alliance of Pharmaceutical Associations, told MK, pharmacy organizations are recording a decline in sales today: “According to the marketing agency DSM Group, a decrease of about 12%. This is due to the fact that the population has not yet used the drugs that were purchased for future use in March last year. In addition, the incomes of citizens have decreased, so they are forced to save. If during the pandemic people bought large packages and drugs worth more than 500 rubles, now medicines in the price category from 150 rubles are popular. The segment of drugs “up to 50 rubles” in pharmacies has practically disappeared, it has become unprofitable for companies to produce these drugs – the cost is higher. Today their share is 1.7% in rubles and about 16% in packages.

In general, the average per capita consumption of medicines per year is now at the level of 15 thousand rubles per year, over the past 10 years this figure has increased 3 times. This indicates that drug supply in the country is improving year by year. But the average per capita consumption in packages practically does not change. In 2022, this figure was about 35 packages.

In addition, the Russians are in no hurry to see a doctor. They first look for information on the Internet and diagnose themselves, then consult with a neighbor, colleague, friend, and then come to the pharmacy for medicines and pharmaceutical advice. And if all self-appointments did not help, then they go to the doctors. Surprisingly, they doubt even the doctor’s recommendations and ask the pharmacy for better and cheaper. But the population believes bloggers, “specialists” from the Internet. This is evidenced by the news about poisoning with fly agaric products, which are purchased on marketplaces and used in the hope of getting healthier.”

Experts remind that sometimes prices in pharmacies can vary significantly, so it will not be superfluous to look for where you can buy the drug cheaper – since now there are many sites that allow you to make such comparisons. In addition, there are loyalty programs in network pharmacies: cards that make it possible to pay for subsequent purchases with points, discounts, etc. This also allows you to save. Therefore, be sure to issue loyalty cards and use bonuses and discounts. And another important life hack that few people know about: part of the money spent on medicines can be returned in the form of a tax deduction. It is 13% of the amount spent, but not more than 15,600 rubles per year. “Protect your health by choosing preventive medicine to prevent complications and chronic stages of disease, because it is under these circumstances that most medical treatment is required,” doctors say.

However, Russians save not only on medicines. An earlier analytical study showed that 35% of Russians began to save on medical services, 41% of respondents called medical tests the most expensive service.

But self-treatment, experts say, in our country is spontaneous.

The concept of responsible self-medication was developed by the World Health Organization many years ago. It implies the reasonable use by patients themselves of over-the-counter medicines for the prevention or treatment of minor health problems before professional medical care is provided. It includes a healthy lifestyle, proper nutrition, sports, regular medical examinations to identify health problems at an early stage, adherence to the prescribed treatment, the correct use of drugs and their conscious choice when possible. Unfortunately, our concept is self-diagnosis, uncontrolled intake of drugs, saving on health. As a result, an untimely visit to a doctor and sometimes sad consequences, ”says Victoria Presnyakova.

Published in the newspaper “Moskovsky Komsomolets” No. 29042 dated June 2, 2023

Newspaper headline:
Unhealthy Thrift Mode