One of the main aims of the State Council’s March 18 Action Plan is to revamp the nationwide policy on so-called essential medicines (EMs). Specifically, the Scheme provides clarification on the procurement and pricing of EMs, among other things.
Essential medicines are defined by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as follows:
Essential Medicines are those that satisfy the priority healthcare needs of the population. Essential Medicines are selected with due regard to disease prevalence, evidence on efficacy and safety, and comparative cost-effectiveness. Essential Medicines are intended to be available within the context of functioning health systems at all times in adequate amounts, in the appropriate dosage forms, with assured quality, and at a price the individual and the community can afford.
Sicne 1977, the WHO has published a regularly updated model list of EMs. The 15th version was prepared in March 2007 and contains 340 medicines. Exactly which medicines...
Please login or register below to read this article.