Presentation (CTI)

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to evaluate the trends in prescription volume and associated costs within Türkiye’s healthcare system between 2015 and 2024. Specifically, it examines the annual number of prescriptions, total invoiced amounts, and average cost per prescription, in order to assess cost dynamics, healthcare utilization, and the evolving economic burden of pharmaceutical expenditures over time.
METHODS: This retrospective study is based on official data from the Social Security Institution of Türkiye, covering annual prescription counts and invoice totals from 2015 to 2024. Average prescription cost was calculated by dividing total invoice values by the number of prescriptions. Trends were examined with attention to cost increases, particularly after the COVID-19 period.
RESULTS: Between 2015 and 2024, the number of prescriptions rose from approximately 339 million to 504 million, reflecting a 49% increase. During the same period, the total invoiced amount for prescriptions increased more than 18-fold, from ₺18.1 billion to ₺330 billion. This dramatic rise resulted in a steep increase in the average prescription invoice value, which rose from ₺53 in 2015 to ₺655 in 2024. The sharpest cost escalation began after 2020. While the average cost per prescription was ₺141 in 2020, it jumped to ₺150 in 2021, ₺223 in 2022, and doubled again to ₺426 in 2023. In 2024, the per-prescription cost peaked at ₺655. These figures suggest that although prescription volumes continued to grow steadily, the rate of increase in total costs and unit prices accelerated more dramatically, particularly in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.
CONCLUSIONS: Türkiye's healthcare system experienced not only a quantitative increase in prescription volume but also a significant surge in pharmaceutical spending per prescription between 2015 and 2024. This upward cost trend may reflect rising drug prices, increased complexity of treatments, or broader changes in prescribing behavior.