Abstract
BackgroundThe 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.MethodsOur 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.ResultsThe 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.ConclusionThe 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.
Highlights
The 2018 edition of the National Essential drugs List came into effect in September 2018
The results show that the essential drug allocation rate for public medical institutions and retail pharmacies is low in Hefei with the lower drug availability
This study found that 50% of essential drugs at public medical institutions and retail pharmacies are quite low, and some medicines are hard to find in the market
Summary
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. WHO proposes that essential medicines should be necessary for public health, and should be accessible at all times, and be applied to all levels of society in appropriate dosage forms. According to the World Health Report 2000, about one-third of the world’s population still lacks access to essential medicines. Despite some health policies aimed at addressing high levels of medical expenses, the high cost of medical services and medicines is still considered to be the main obstacle to access to health care. Medical institutions at all levels should ensure the accessibility of essential medicines, especially essential medicines for the treatment of common diseases and high incidence [1].
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