In 2022, total national pharmaceutical expenditure (public and private) amounted to 34.1 billion euros, an increase of 6.0% compared to 2021. More than 6 out of 10 citizens received at least one drug prescription, with a growth in per capita expenditure and consumption with increasing age. In particular, the population over 64 years of age absorbed more than 60% of the expenditure and doses. The Northern Regions recorded a lower prevalence (63.1%) than the Central (68.4%) and the Southern Regions (69.5%).

These are some of the data emerging from the 2022 National Report "The use of medicines in Italy", produced by AIFA’s Medicines Utilisation Monitoring Centre (OsMed). Now in its twenty-third edition, thanks to the availability of multiple information systems and the collaboration of numerous other institutions, the Report provides an increasingly complete and critical description of pharmaceutical assistance in Italy, in both territorial and hospital settings, whether paid for by the National Health Service (SSN) or through private purchase by citizens.

In this edition, greater emphasis has been given to the section dedicated to the purchase of class C and C-NN medicines by public health facilities and to the analysis of direct and “on behalf” distribution, investigating more closely the heterogeneity at the regional level in the choice of supply channels.

In the chapter dedicated to international comparisons, the levels of expenditure and consumption of various therapeutic categories recorded in Italy have been compared with those of nine other European countries, over a time trend of the last four years.

Among the novelties of this edition, there is the introduction of a new section dedicated to the analysis of the potential environmental impact of a series of active ingredients with high use or high risk of environmental toxicity.