Pharmaco-economic evaluations become more important for the reimbursement of pharmaceuticals, and will be obligatory for new pharmaceutical drugs for which an added therapeutic value is claimed and a price premium is proposed by the manufacturer. Therefore, it is important to guide purchasers and providers of pharmaceutical care in their efforts related to the evaluation process. Standard Repor...

OBJECTIVES We describe a key informant study that invited national medicines policy leads for the European Union member states to self-assess the level of implementation of medicines adherence initiatives in their country and the adequacy of that implementation. Interviews with medicines policy leads enabled in-depth understanding of the variation in adherence support across nations and the way...

BACKGROUND regular medication review has been recommended for those over 75 and those on multiple drug therapy. Pharmacists are a potential source of assistance in reviewing medication. Evidence of the benefits of this process is needed. OBJECTIVE to study the effect of medication review led by a pharmacist on resolution of pharmaceutical care issues, medicine costs, use of health and social ...

BACKGROUND Bipolar I disorder (BD-I) is a chronic mental illness characterized by the presence of one or more manic episodes, or both depressive and manic episodes, usually separated by asymptomatic intervals. Pharmacists can contribute to the management of BD-I, mainly with the use of effective and safe drugs, and improve the patient's life quality through pharmaceutical care. Some studies hav...

OBJECTIVES Pharmaceutical policies have become paramount in China and other countries of the Asia-Pacific region because of rapidly rising expenditures on drugs. The problems are especially acute in China because expenditures on drugs are typically so large. This article intends to review effects of the policy of drug expenditure containment with primary reference to China, and it proposes some...

OBJETIVE To analyze the relationship between access to medicines by the population and the institutionalization of pharmaceutical services in Brazilian primary health care. METHODS This study is part of the Pesquisa Nacional sobre Acesso, Utilização e Promoção do Uso Racional de Medicamentos - Serviços 2015 (PNAUM - National Survey on Access, Use and Promotion of Rational Use of Medicines - S...

The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) believes that clinical pharmacokinetic monitoring is a fundamental responsibility of all pharmacists providing pharmaceutical care. Clinical pharmacokinetic monitoring is an integral component of pharmaceutical care for selected patients based on their specific pharmacotherapy, disease states and related factors, and treatment goals. ASHP...

We seem to prefer that medicine and medical care be provided through altruistic motives. Even the pharmaceutical industry justifies its behavior in terms of altruistic purposes. But economists have known since Adam Smith that self-interested behavior can create large and growing social benefits. This is true for medical care as well as for other goods. First, I consider specifically the case of...

BACKGROUND Several factors, which are components of pharmaceutical care, can influence a patient's choice of a community pharmacy store and contribute to frequent visits to the same pharmacy. OBJECTIVES To compare factors that influence a patient's choice of pharmacy in Poland and in the UK, to identify which of them are components of pharmaceutical care, and to relate them to patient loyalty...