Analysis of prescriptive monitoring regarding the current therapeutic landscape of rheumatoid arthritis: the experience of an Italian local health authority.

Introduction: Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is among the most prevalent chronic inflammatory diseases affecting millions of people with a significant expenditure of resources by National Healthcare Systems. This study aimed to analyze all available treatments exclusively for RA to highlight the costs of each treatment type and raise awareness of the use of biosimilar drugs.

Methods: In an Italian healthcare authority, all prescriptions made for the diagnosis of RA were extracted to verify consumption expressed in Defined Daily Dose (DDD) and the expenditure incurred expressed in euros.