Implementation of cost containment strategy in pharmacy: A literature review

Healthcare expenditure in the pharmaceutical sector is always growing yearly. It demands cost-containment policies. This systematic literature reviewed types of cost containment strategy applied in many countries worldwide. Articles published from 2011 until 2021 were identified from PubMed, Scopus, and ScienceDirect. Key search terms included “Cost containment” and “Pharmacy”. Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (P.R.I.S.M.A.) methodology was followed. The cost containment was categorized by type of population, Health facilities, Countries, Method of Study, and kind of cost containment. A total of 2,909 records were found through database searching of PubMed (140), Scopus (1,687) and ScienceDirect (1,082). After a full-text screening, 28 articles were included in the review. Most studies were conducted on pricing limits, followed by reduce overtreatment and drug waste. The strategy that resulted in the greatest cost savings was the drug waste, and tendering, followed by reduce overtreatment. This study provides insight of cost containment strategy in pharmacy from several countries that might be adopted for implementation in other settings.