Quantifying the impacts of volume-based procurement policy on spatial accessibility of antidepressants via generic substitution: A four-city cohort study using drug sales data.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

To assess the spatial accessibility and inequality of antidepressants and its correlation with VBP (Volume-based procurement) policy using procurement data from four representative Chinese cities between 2018 and 2020.

Methods

The least-cost-path algorithm was employed to calculate travel time from each population point to the nearest medical institution. Gini coefficient and Theil index were utilized to measure accessibility and inequality. OLS (Ordinary Least Squares) and mediation analysis were used to investigate potential statistical relationships.

Results

Under the influence of the VBP policy, we observed varying degrees of growth in the procurement volumes of two antidepressants across different cities (Escitalopram: Beijing 30.3%, Shanghai 26.2%, Nin

SUBMITTER: Xue A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11809876 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature