A Study on the German Mandatory Prescription System : Implications for the Korean System

독일 의약분업제도 운영에 관한 연구 : 한국 의약분업제도에의 함의

The objectives of this study is to examine the German mandatory prescription system in terms of the applicability and restriction of the pharmaceutical policy in order to obtain some useful implications for solving the problems in Korean prescription system. Recently, in Germany, an issue about the security of the prescription, the price control of the pharmaceuticals and the containment of the increasing prescription expenditure has been intensively discussed. Similar problems are also occurred in Korea. So, the policy measurements of Germany could be used in Korea. But it could not easy to introduce the German policy measurements in Korea because of the social-institutional differences between the two countries, which are following; (1) Korea has a short experience with the mandatory prescription system, (2) the German concept of the management differs from that of the Korea, (3) the subscribers and the patients are excluded from the decision making process, (4) the medical service providers often resist against reform plans. For the stable development of the Korean prescription system the principle of self-government, the collective bargaining concept for cost containment, and social consensus about optimal expenditure of the pharmaceuticals are expected to be needed.