Survey and analysis of the availability and affordability of essential drugs in Hefei based on WHO / HAI standard survey methods

Abstract

Background The 2018 edition of the National Essential drugs List came into effect in September 2018. Relevant policies require that all primary medical and health institutions should supply national essential drugs, while secondary and tertiary medical and health institutions should supply a certain percentage of essential drugs. Methods Our research used the standard methods of WHO and HAI, selected 50 basic drugs, combined with the actual situation of Hefei City, selected 30 medical institutions and 30 pharmacies, conducted drug availability and affordability studies. Results The availability of the lowest-price generics (LPGs) of essential drug in Hefei is much higher than that of the Originator brands (OBs); the overall affordability is better, but there is a large gap between the affordability levels of OBs and LPGs. OBs are relatively poorly affordable. Conclusion The implementation of the national essential drug system in Hefei has achieved certain results, but there is still a gap from the expected target. It is recommended to update and adjust the list of essential drugs in accordance with the demand for clinical medicines, ensure that medical and health institutions at all levels supply essential drugs, popularize knowledge of essential drugs, and moderately adjust the price of OBs to reduce the medication burden.

What Factors Hindered the Access to Essential Anti-Cancer Medicine in Public Hospitals amongst the Local Population in Hubei Province, China?

“…Recently, most of domestic studies on essential medicines focused on antibacterial drugs and medications for chronic diseases [8][9][10] . Their study can re ect the common problems in the availability and affordability of essential drugs in China, however, the question regarding whether it is the same case for anticancer still awaits further investigation.…”

“…In recent years, it has also issued relevant policies to curb the disordered competition in pharmaceutical market. Launching the new direction of "purchasing with quantity, linking quantity with price and combining bidding and purchasing" has pushed the price of national essential drugs back to a reasonable level [8,29] . Especially, after the conformity evaluation, generic drugs gradually occupy the share of originator brand drugs and expand the OBs' substitution in favour of lowering public health expenditure in hospitals [30] .…”

“…In 2018, China re-adjusted the national EML, and increased the growth rate of oncology drugs by 35%. In terms of cancer treatment, the 2018 edition of the "National Essential Medicine List" added 5 kinds of non-targeted drugs, including Ifosfamide, Gemcitabine, Pingyangmycin, Capecitabine, and Letrozole [8] . The supplementary medicines can greatly alleviate the burden of cancer treatment.…”

“…The supplementary medicines can greatly alleviate the burden of cancer treatment. After the implementation of the national essential medicine system, the production cost of essential medicines and unreasonable pro t margins can be well controlled.Recently, most of domestic studies on essential medicines focused on antibacterial drugs and medications for chronic diseases [8][9][10] . Their study can re ect the common problems in the availability and affordability of essential drugs in China, however, the question regarding whether it is the same case for anticancer still awaits further investigation.…”

What Factors Hindered the Access to Essential Anticancer Medicine in Public Hospitals for the Local Population in Hubei Province, China

“…In 2018, China re-adjusted the national EML, and increased the growth rate of oncology drugs by 35%. In terms of cancer treatment, the 2018 edition of the "National Essential Medicine List" added five kinds of nontargeted drugs, including Ifosfamide, Gemcitabine, Pingyangmycin, Capecitabine, and Letrozole (Dong et al, 2020). The supplementary medicines can greatly alleviate the burden of cancer treatment.…”