New WIdO ATC classification 2023 published
16.05.2023 13:53
The current Anatomical-Therapeutic-Chemical Classification (ATC) with daily doses (DDD) 2023 for the German pharmaceutical market has been published. It is a basis for recording drug regulations in Germany and enables market analyzes as well as detailed considerations of specific therapeutic groups, for example cancer therapeutics or immunosuppressants.
A cooperation between the WHO and the WIdO has made it possible to use the ATC classification system to examine drug consumption for German-speaking users for more than 20 years. The use in numerous national and international drug consumption research projects makes the great need for this classification system clear. The WHO's international ATC/DDD classification was again adapted to the specifics of the care situation in Germany in 2023 and serves as a template for updating the official German version of the ATC classification.
The 2023 ATC index contains 7,300 codes for various drugs and drug combinations as well as 4,055 established daily doses. This means that 737 million drug prescriptions with a net cost equivalent of 52.9 billion euros can be evaluated in detail in the 2022 prescription year. With the additions to the WIdO, around a quarter of the drug costs for the national German market can be presented in a more differentiated manner than would be possible with the international classification. For example, daily doses for all prescribed drugs are set by the WIdO, especially in the cost-intensive areas of active ingredients for cancer and immune diseases. In the current version, the special effective approaches for immunosuppressants are taken into account and restructured with reference to the WHO. In this group alone, there have been 22 new drugs in the last five years and the net costs for outpatient care in 2022 amounted to almost 8 billion euros.
The ATC classification with daily doses helps to create transparency in the pharmaceutical market and contributes to ensuring high-quality, therapy- and needs-based and economical drug supply. With the master fileplus The WIdO makes the classification of the GKV drug index available to contractual partners from science, associations and politics on a monthly basis free of charge. The PharMaAnalyst, an online service from WIdO, also offers flexible analyzes of prescription data from statutory health insurance (GKV) using the ATC classification with daily doses (PharmaAnalyst).