Background: Real-World Evidence (RWE) provides insights into patient outcomes reflecting current practices under existing healthcare system conditions. Longitudinal patient data are a source of information that can be used to track treatments for anonymised individual patients over time. Arterial hypertension is one of the most common chronic diseases in Poland, leading to serious complications, especially if undiagnosed and not properly controlled. Fixed-dose combinations of antihypertensive drugs become more and more popular in the treatment of hypertension. The objective of this study was to analyze real-life treatment patterns and medication costs in patients with hypertension treated with the most popular ACEI in Poland - ramipril, in monotherapy, loose and fixed combinations. Methods: This analysis was based on the longitudinal prescription database (IMS “LRx”) of individual, anonymized patients structured by product, prescribing doctor specialty and patient age group and sex, sourced from dispensing transactions of 3367 chain and non-chain pharmacies, in the Polish open-care market. The period of analysis covers 20 months (January 2014 – August 2015). It is based on 1 488 053 patients and 9 023 582 prescriptions. Cost calculations were performed from payer’s and patient’s perspectives. Results: Owing to the availability of multiple treatment options, patterns in hypertension treatment in Poland are very complex, even when considered only at the molecule level. Furthermore, switching to fixed-dose combination therapy based on ramipril resulted in savings for patients as well as the public payer. Conclusion: Wider use of fixed-dose combinations is a cost saving option both for patients and the public payer.
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