Despite intensifi ed eff orts in recent years, tuberculosis is uncontrolled in many regions. 1 Although drug-susceptible tuberculosis is a treatable disease, the 6 month duration of therapy, often administered under daily direct observation, can result in poor outcomes because of the demands that this regimen places on patients and health systems. Therapy for multidrug-resistant (MDR) tuberculo...

The Alma-Ata declaration, during the International Conference on Primary Health Care in 1978, reaffirmed that health is a fundamental human right and the attainment of the highest possible level of health is an important worldwide social goal. [1] The conference of experts on the rational use of medicines, convened by the World Health Organization (WHO) in Nairobi 1985, stated that rational use...

Veterinary antimicrobials are the same as, or closely related to, antimicrobials used in human medicine. In the past this had led to the suggestion that emerging resistance to antimicrobials in human pathogens was associated with the overuse and misuse of antimicrobials in veterinary medicine. The decision whether the antimicrobial therapy is required should be based on the specific basis. This...

BACKGROUND Rational use of medicines remains to be one of the most challenging problems in health systems worldwide [1, 2]. ABC/VEN-analysis has been recommended for use by the World Health Organization (WHO) and has been used in health care practice globally since 1981. It represents the simple and effective method of analysis of medicine expenditures, identifying priority groups of medicines,...

Introduction: The abuse of antibiotics as well as the development of microbial resistance in them is a global phenomenon. Aim: The purpose of this study is to highlight the rational use of antibiotics and limitation of microbial resistance. Material and methods: Extensive review of the recent literature was conducted in electronic database Medline and via the link of the Greek Association of Ac...

During tlie Spring of 1987 the author had the privilege of visiting the Pathology Depart*.? ment of the University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur and was able t o witness many aspects of local clinical practice involving blood therapy including heart surgery and bone marrow transplantation. It is acknowledged that the demographic situation in Malaysia differs considerably from that in Scotland; neve...

BACKGROUND India, the largest democracy in the world, is with a federal structure of 29 states and 7 union territories. With a population of more than 1.2 billion, resource is always a constraint and so is in the health system too. In the federal structure, providing healthcare is largely the responsibility of state governments. Medicines are important component of health care delivery system a...

Attitudes of 40 interns towards rational drug use (RDU) were assessed, using a standardized Likert type scale. The assessment was repeated after 4 months to evaluate the effect of usual working conditions of the hospital. After this period, the attitudes had slided towards negative side (p < 0.01). At this point, an intervention in the form of a workshop was provided for half the group while ot...

Introduction: Evaluation of pharmaceutical systems performance is an essential prerequisite for promoting evidence-based policy-making, improvement in health system performance. This study attempts to evaluate the performance of Iran pharmaceutical system based on the world health organization (WHO)'s indicators, including access, quality, and rational use of medicines. Methods: In this c...