Southern Med Review

The State of Qatar is a small oil and gas-rich Gulf country that is experiencing rapid development in health care services, including pharmaceutical services. To date, there is no autonomous professional pharmacy association or society that regulates or promotes the practice of pharmacy in Qatar, and the challenges that face the profession of pharmacy in Qatar mirror the challenges facing the profession in all other Middle Eastern countries. However, a set of initiatives and projects that include pioneering educational initiatives, close alignment of practice with the educational providers, stronger leadership from a National Health Strategy, and the development of pharmacy leadership groups at the practice level all contribute in the fast development of the practice of pharmacy in this country...

As part of wider reforms within the pharmaceutical sector, the pharmaceutical care concept has been introduced in the Republic of Macedonia. This article provides discussion on current opportunities and challenges which pharmacy practice face in Macedonia. The emphasis is on three prerequisites for the implementation of pharmaceutical care including: organization of pharmaceutical services, legislation, and professional training. The author argues that Macedonia possesses a favorable pharmacy workforce, solid legal basis and supportive structures of healthcare services in order to implement pharmaceutical care...

OBJECTIVE: Readability has been claimed to be an important factor for understanding texts describing health symptoms and medications. Such texts may be a factor which indirectly affects the health of the population. Despite the expertise of physicians, the readability of information sources may be important for acquiring essential treatment information. The aim of this study was to measure the readability level of medicines promotion material in Slovenia. METHODS: The Flesch readability formula was modified to comply with Slovene texts...

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this paper is to analyze which pharmaceutical policies European countries applied during the global financial crisis. METHODS: We undertook a survey with officials from public authorities for pharmaceutical pricing and reimbursement of 33 European countries represented in the PPRI (Pharmaceutical Pricing and Reimbursement Information) network based on a questionnaire. The survey was launched in September 2010 and repeated in February 2011 to obtain updated information...

OBJECTIVES: Although poor reproductive health constitutes a significant proportion of the disease burden in developing countries, essential medicines for reproductive health are often not available to the population. The objective was to analyze the guiding principles for developing national Essential Medicines Lists (EML). The second objective was to compare the reproductive health medicines included on these EMLs to the 2002 WHO/UNFPA list of essential drugs and commodities for reproductive health...

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to assess the existing theoretical and empirical literature examining the link between "local production" of pharmaceuticals and medical devices and increased local access to these products. Our preliminary hypothesis is that studies showing a robust relationship between local production and access to medical products are sparse, at best. METHODS: An extensive literature search was conducted using a wide variety of databases and search terms intending to capture as many different aspects of this issue as possible...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

Numerous pharmaceutical products are launched each year for the treatment of various medical conditions. The prescriber is in a difficult position to determine which the optimal product is for a specific patient, when he has available immediate release as well as sustained action capsules and tablets, chewable tablets and liquid dosage forms. Some have activity within 15 minutes while others take longer. Some are more costly but have never been implicated with gastric distress; some are very widely prescribed and others are not well known...

OBJECTIVE: To examine the inappropriate use of antimicrobials by investigating (1) actual utilization pattern and retail sales and (2) antimicrobial resistant information provided by health professionals in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. METHODS: We investigated antimicrobial use in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia by surveying 619 consenting customers who attended 250 randomly chosen pharmacies in December 2006. Pharmacy staff were also interviewed about antimicrobials purchased...

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to compare the provision of medicines information in medical journal advertising in Australia, Malaysia and the United States. METHODS: A consecutive sample of 85 unique advertisements from each country was selected from the advertisements published between January 2004 to December 2006 in three widely circulated medical journals and one prescribing reference manual. The availability of brand name and generic name, indication, contraindications, dosage, side-effects, warnings, interactions and precautions was compared between the three countries...

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to analyze and record the published evidence regarding community pharmacy practice in India during the past decade (1998-2008). METHODS: A bibliometric review analysis of the original papers was undertaken to assess the different aspects of community pharmacy practice in India. The MEDLINE, Index Copernicus, IndMed, DOAJ databases and the journals such as Indian Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Indian Journal of Hospital Pharmacy were used as data sources...

OBJECTIVES: Developing countries face considerable problems in both accessing and properly utilizing essential medicines. One challenge to achieving these goals in resource-poor settings is a limited knowledge base as to what works to improve the selection, access and use of essential medicines including; ways to ensure affordable prices, increase sustainable financing, and strengthen reliable supply systems that are relevant to these settings. The objective of this study was to search the existing evidence base on access to medicine issues in developing countries and to assess publication patterns regarding the nature of topics studied, areas where gaps of information exist and the general trends in publications in this area...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

Today, community pharmacists play an important role in any country as they take responsibility for patient's medicine related needs for access to healthcare. However, in India only the supply of medicines remains the core activity of the community pharmacist. Most community pharmacists in the country still hardly offer patient-oriented service. The role of the pharmacists in the community, and with it their medicine management, may change in the wake of the rapid growth of domestic medicine output and national healthcare expenditure...

Pharmacovigilance plays an important role in the rational use of medicines by providing information about adverse drug reactions (ADRs) in the general population. Knowledge of ADRs caused by drugs is important for effective treatment. KIST Medical College has recently joined the national pharmacovigilance program as a regional center. Clinicians, pharmacists, house officers, nurses and other staff are encouraged to report ADRs to the center. The center started functioning from mid-July 2008. The objective of this study was to report the various ADRs presented to the center in its first seven months of operation...

OBJECTIVES: Unethical drug promotion is a common problem worldwide. In, Nepal, there is limited vigilance on the quality of information supplied by the drug companies to the doctors. The objectives of this study were to analyze the promotional materials provided by the drug companies as per WHO ethical criteria for medicinal drug promotion. METHODS: Promotional materials present in the Drug Information Center (DIC) during the period from September to December 2007 were collected...

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