Objective: Almost all countries are affected by a variety of drug-supply problems and spend a considerable amount of time and resources to address shortages. The current study aims to reach a consensus on the scarce drug allocation measures to improve the allocation process of scarce drugs in Iran by a population needs-based approach. Methods: To achieve the objective, two phases were co...

JCPH – Vol. 69, no 2 – mars–avril 2016 180 frequently respond to consultation requests from other organizations and the federal government on health policy; for example, we are members of a multistakeholder steering committee on drug shortages, provided input to the ProvincialTerritorial Expert Advisory Group on Physician-Assisted Dying, and prepared a formal response to the federal External Pa...

Tuberculosis (TB) disease is treated in most cases with a regimen of several drugs taken for 6-9 months. Currently, 10 drugs are approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treatment of TB. Of these, the four drugs that form the core for first-line treatment regimens are isoniazid (INH), rifampin, ethambutol, and pyrazinamide. In November 2012, the United States began to experience a...

Editorials 158 Shortages of essential medicines, among them generic injectable chemotherapy agents, are causing increasing concern in the United States of America (USA). However, the problem is far wider, affecting other classes of medicines including injectable anaesthetic agents, such as propofol, intravenous nutrition and elec-trolyte products, enzyme replacement products and radiopharmaceut...

In August, the price of the 62-year-old drug pyrimethamine (Daraprim), used to treat many potentially fatal parasitic infections, was increased practically overnight from$14 to$750per tablet. This colossal increase attracted renewed attention to generic pharmaceutical price spikes, prompting public outrage and a new round of proposals to address this issue. Over the past few years, increasing d...

Objectives: Medicine shortages are a global phenomenon. A growing number of reports indicate the problem is increasingly affecting the European pharmaceutical market. The present study aims to investigate the characteristics, determinants, legal aspects and management of medicine shortages in Belgium, France and from the perspective of the European Union. MethOds: A review of scientific and gre...

PURPOSE: Large price swings for individual drugs complicate the hospital purchasing process, both increasing costs and adversely affecting patient treatment therapy. The objectives for this study are, for a large regional hospital buyer, to describe price changes for individual drugs, therapeutic classes, and drug companies, and to determine factors associated with large price swings. METHODS: ...