OBJECTIVE To consolidate and assess information on counterfeit medicines subject to pharmaceutical alerts issued by the Peruvian Medicines Regulatory Authority over 18 years (1997-2014) of health monitoring and enforcement. DESIGN A retrospective review of drug alerts. SETTING A search of the website of the General Directorate of Medicines, Supplies and Drugs (DIGEMID) of the Ministry of He...

Medicines constitute a substantial proportion of out-of-pocket (OOP) expenses in Indian households. In order to address this issue, the Government of India launched the Jan Aushadhi (Medicine for the Masses) Scheme (JAS) to provide cheap generic medicines to the patients (http://janaushadhi.gov.in/about_jan_aushadhi.html). These medicines are provided through the Jan Aushadhi stores established...

The WHO Medicines Strategy 2000–2003 identifies policy, access, quality and safety, and rational use as its four major objectives. In 2001, our medicines activities focused on extending the evidence base in each of these four areas. We applied that evidence to help countries improve access to affordable medicines of good quality, and ensure that those medicines were used to secure maximum healt...

338. Prevalence, Mortality and Outcomes of Antibiotic Therapy of MultiDrug Resistant Acinetobacter baumannii Kenneth T. Lapensee, PhD, MPH; Weihong Fan, MS; Mark Redell, PharmD; Michael Dudley, PharmD; Jeff Loutit, MD; The Medicines Company, Parsippany, NJ; Biostatistics, The Medicines Company, Parsippany, NJ; Medical Science, The Medicines Company, San Diego, CA; Infectious Disease Care, The M...

OBJECTIVES Like many other developing countries, South Africa provides free medicines through its public health care facilities. Recent policies encourage generic substitution in the private sector. This study explored South African consumer perceptions of drug quality and whether these perceptions influenced how people procured and used their medicines. METHODS The study was undertaken in Durb...

BACKGROUND Systemic anticancer therapy, comprising chemotherapy agents alongside targeted therapies and immunotherapy, is clinically indicated for late-stage lung cancer. It is delivered in regimens often containing multiple anticancer agents as well as supportive care medicines to reduce side effects, raising potential for polypharmacy and therefore the possibility of drug-drug interactions wi...

BACKGROUND Involving patients in decisions about their pharmacotherapy is crucial for a satisfactory treatment outcome. Information and opinions about medicines are available from a variety of sources. The Wise List is the drug formulary of recommended essential medicines for the Stockholm healthcare region and is issued by the Drug and Therapeutics Committee (DTC). To inform the public about t...

BACKGROUND Doctors and nurses are two natural partners in the healthcare team, but they usually differ in their perspectives on how to work for increased health. These professions may also have different beliefs about medicines, a factor important for adherence to medicines. The aim was to explore general beliefs about medicines among doctors and nurses. METHODS Questionnaires were sent to 30...

OBJECTIVES To identify priority medicines policy issues for New Zealand. SETTING Stakeholders from a broad range of healthcare and policy institutions including primary, secondary and tertiary care. PARTICIPANTS Exploratory, semistructured interviews were conducted with 20 stakeholders throughout New Zealand. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES The interviews were digitally recorded, t...