German Doctors Underspend In 1995

Despite the rise in German drug spending in 1995, panel doctors in western Germany appear on their own figures to have underspent their drug spending budgets. Western German panel doctors prescribed drugs worth 24.2 billion Deutschemarks ($16.7 million) last year, according to their sector association, the KBV. This was some 240 million marks below the permitted limit. Spen-ding in the eastern German states rose 8.3% last year, and initial estimates by the pharmacy association suggest that eastern German doctors have overshot budgets.

Spending on drugs in western Germany rose 8.1% last year, assisted by a wave of infections in spring 1995, sending spending up 12.1% in the first half of the year. Second-half drug spending increased by only 4.3%, easing budgetary tensions. The KBV notes that drug spending can be controlled "only with difficulty, because of seasonal peaks of illness."