Abstract
Background: The access to affordable medicines is counted as a challenge, despite international measures taken towards cost containment and price regulation. Objective: To identify and review the literature on international approaches related to medicine price regulation, control, and its effectiveness. Methods: In this scoping review, peer-reviewed research and review articles, discussion papers, public documents relating to medicine pricing policies were reviewed. The search strategy was structured according to STARLITE principles. The key search terms and phrases were “medicine pricesâ€, “causes of high medicine pricesâ€, “ approaches towards medicine prices controlâ€, “national medicine policiesâ€, “international approaches towards medicine price controlâ€, “containment policiesâ€, and “effects of pricing policy on medicineâ€. Results: Medicine pricing and price regulation policies were drafted and implemented with no optimal results and things don’t seem to have improved much and remain as the distant goal. These policies were either less comprehensive, outdated and fell short in implementation especially in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) due to lack of funding, infrastructure or trained professional task force. Overall, none of the policy options was preferred. Multi-pronged policy options crafted in local context are required to tackle the issue. Conclusion: The authors identify gaps in the literature and propose advanced research in the area to strengthen the healthcare system by improving medicine pricing system in each country.
Highlights
Medicines are essential to sustainable health care systems and reduce morbidity and mortality rates and enhance quality of life (Kohler et al, 2012)
The present study contributes to the literature about the causes of soaring medicine prices and the effectiveness of international approaches towards medicine price regulation and control
The results showed that pharmaceutical prices consist of components such as the manufacturers' price, wholesalers' price and retailers' price
Summary
Medicines are essential to sustainable health care systems and reduce morbidity and mortality rates and enhance quality of life (Kohler et al, 2012). The price competition should not be limited to generic medicines only since it is important to reduce the high prices of patented medicines as well. Objective: To identify and review the literature on international approaches related to medicine price regulation, control, and its effectiveness. Results: Medicine pricing and price regulation policies were drafted and implemented with no optimal results and things don’t seem to have improved much and remain as the distant goal. These policies were either less comprehensive, outdated and fell short in implementation especially in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) due to lack of funding, infrastructure or trained professional task force. Conclusion: The authors identify gaps in the literature and propose advanced research in the area to strengthen the healthcare system by improving medicine pricing system in each country
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