학술논문
Variation in the availability and cost of essential medicines for non-communicable diseases in Uganda: A descriptive time series analysis.
Document Type
Academic Journal
Author
Armstrong-Hough M; School of Global Public Health, New York University, New York, NY, United States of America.; Sharma S; Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, United States of America.; Kishore SP; Arnhold Institute for Global Health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, United States of America.; Young Professionals Chronic Disease Network, New York, New York, United States of America.; Akiteng AR; Uganda Initiative for Integrated Management of Non-Communicable Diseases, Kampala, Uganda.; Schwartz JI; Uganda Initiative for Integrated Management of Non-Communicable Diseases, Kampala, Uganda.; Department of Internal Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America.
Source
Publisher: Public Library of Science Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 101285081 Publication Model: eCollection Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1932-6203 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 19326203 NLM ISO Abbreviation: PLoS One Subsets: MEDLINE
Subject
Language
English
Abstract
Background: Availability of essential medicines for non-communicable diseases (NCDs) is poor in low- and middle-income countries. Availability and cost are conventionally assessed using cross-sectional data. However, these characteristics may vary over time.
Methods: We carried out a prospective, descriptive analysis of the availability and cost of essential medicines in 23 Ugandan health facilities over a five-week period. We surveyed facility pharmacies in-person up to five times, recording availability and cost of 19 essential medicines for NCDs and four essential medicines for communicable diseases.
Results: Availability of medicines varied substantially over time, especially among public facilities. Among private-for-profit facilities, the cost of the same medicine varied from week to week. Private-not-for-profit facilities experienced less dramatic fluctuations in price.
Conclusions: We conclude that there is a need for standardized, continuous monitoring to better characterize the availability and cost of essential medicines, understand demand for these medicines, and reduce uncertainty for patients.
Competing Interests: The authors have read the journal’s policy and have the following competing interests: This study was partly funded by Knoema, a commercial data technology company. Knoema provided funding for data collection and the development of the data collection and management tool. SPK has served as a consultant for Resolve to Save Lives for hypertension control and has led partnership on multiple chronic conditions supported by the Arnhold Institute for Global Health at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Teva Pharmaceuticals, but did not receive any funding from Teva Pharmaceuticals for this study. This does not alter our adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials. There are no patents, products in development or marketed products associated with this research to declare.
Methods: We carried out a prospective, descriptive analysis of the availability and cost of essential medicines in 23 Ugandan health facilities over a five-week period. We surveyed facility pharmacies in-person up to five times, recording availability and cost of 19 essential medicines for NCDs and four essential medicines for communicable diseases.
Results: Availability of medicines varied substantially over time, especially among public facilities. Among private-for-profit facilities, the cost of the same medicine varied from week to week. Private-not-for-profit facilities experienced less dramatic fluctuations in price.
Conclusions: We conclude that there is a need for standardized, continuous monitoring to better characterize the availability and cost of essential medicines, understand demand for these medicines, and reduce uncertainty for patients.
Competing Interests: The authors have read the journal’s policy and have the following competing interests: This study was partly funded by Knoema, a commercial data technology company. Knoema provided funding for data collection and the development of the data collection and management tool. SPK has served as a consultant for Resolve to Save Lives for hypertension control and has led partnership on multiple chronic conditions supported by the Arnhold Institute for Global Health at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Teva Pharmaceuticals, but did not receive any funding from Teva Pharmaceuticals for this study. This does not alter our adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials. There are no patents, products in development or marketed products associated with this research to declare.