Abstracts by keywords: PDD
The Defined Daily Dose (DDD) is a theoretical quantity that was developed as an international standard comparison quantity for drug consumption research. It indicates the assumed mean maintenance dose per day in adults for an active ingredient in its main indication. In Germany, the official German version of the ATC classification (Anatomical-Therapeutic-Chemical Classification) including the DDD information is published by the DIMDI (German Institute for Medical Documentation and Information) (DIMDI 2010). This is based on the version of the WHO, which is responsible for creating the internationally standardized ATC/DDD system (Fricke et al. 2011). Both the WHO and the AOK Scientific Institute (WIdO), which in turn publishes the methodology of the ATC classification and DDD determination for Germany, point out that the DDD is a calculated quantity that is not related to the therapeutic or prescribed dose may be confused. For longitudinal drug consumption research, the DDDs must be kept stable and are therefore unsuitable as a basis for decision-making for questions regarding drug reimbursement, pricing and therapy (Fricke et al. 2011).