Consumer/Provider Topics
Shcherbakova N, Shepherd M*, Lawson K, and Richards K. The role of authorized generics in the prescription drug marketplace. Journal of Generic Medicines. 2011; 8(1):28-40.
This issue is currently in press.
[...]Hosseini SA, Darbooy Sh, Tehrani Banihashemi SA, Naseri SM, Dinarvand R. Counterfeit medicines: report of a cross-sectional retrospective study in Iran. Public Health. 2011 Mar; 125(3):165-71.
OBJECTIVES: To gain insight into the pharmaceutical grey market in Iran by reviewing inspection files of the Special Inspectorate Unit, Deputy Ministry for Food and Drugs, Ministry of Health and Medical Education, and to define the counterfeit pharmaceutical pattern in Iran. STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional retrospective study. METHODS: In total, 382 inspection files of pharmaceutical counterfeit…
[...]Liang B A*, Mackey T. Direct-to-Consumer Advertising With Interactive Internet Media. JAMA. 2011 2 23; 305 (8): 824-825.
Direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) is legal only in the United States and New Zealand and has been linked with drug overutilization, public health concerns, and higher costs. 1 Despite global proscriptions, DTCA is the most rapidly increasing form of pharmaceutical marketing, with approximately $4 billion in US expenditures, outpacing physician marketing and research and development. Liang…
[...]Law E, Youmans SL. Combating Counterfeit Medications: the California perspective. J. Pharm. Pract. 2011 Feb; 24(1):114-21
The production and distribution of counterfeit medications has become a significant global public health issue and though not as rampant in the United States as in other parts of the world, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has seen a 10-fold increase in the number of cases investigated. The purpose of this study was to…
[...]Ivanitskaya L, Brookins-Fisher J, O Boyle I, Vibbert D, Erofeev D, Fulton L. Dirt cheap and without prescription: how susceptible are young US consumers to purchasing drugs from rogue internet pharmacies? J Med Internet Res. 2010;12(2):e11.
BACKGROUND: Websites of many rogue sellers of medications are accessible through links in email spam messages or via web search engines. This study examined how well students enrolled in a U.S. higher education institution could identify clearly unsafe pharmacies. OBJECTIVE: The aim is to estimate these health consumers vulnerability to fraud by illegitimate Internet pharmacies.…
[...]Traynor K. Counterfeit drugs pose growing health threat. Am J Health Syst Pharm. 2010;67(22):1896, 1898.
Counterfeit and substandard medicines constitute a real and growing threat o public health, say federal officials and others who dal with the issue. "The problem is gettng worse each year. The counterfeiters are winning," said Jeffrey Gren, director of the Office of Health and Consumer Goods at the U.S. Department of Commerce. Counterfeit Drugs Pose…
[...]Silva N. Tacking the Booming Trade in Counterfeit Drugs. Lancet. 2010;376(9754):1725-6
The black market in counterfeit drugs is worth billions, but it does untold damage to the health of the poorest populations. Nayanah Siva reports on international efforts to tackle the problem. Tackling the Booming Trade in Counterfeit Drugs
[...]Orizio G, Rubinelli S, Schulz PJ, Domenighini S, Bressanelli M, Caimi L, Gelatti U. “Save 30% if you buy today”. Online pharmacies and the enhancement of peripheral thinking in consumers. Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf. 2010;19(9): 970-6.
PURPOSE: Online pharmacies (OPs) are recognized as a potential threat to public health. The growth of an unregulated global drugs market risks increasing the spread of counterfeit medicines which are often delivered to consumers without a medical prescription. The aim of the study was to assess the strategies of argumentation that OPs adopt in their…
[...]Burki T. The Real Cost of Counterfeit Medicines. Lancet Infect Dis. 2010;10(9):585-6.
In April 2010, the Cambodian Ministry of Health announced that the previous 5 months had seen the enforced closure of nearly 65% of the Illegal pharmacies operating in the country. The US Agency for International Development (USAID)-backed Promoting the Quality of Medicines Programme-which is active in 30 nations-had gathered evidence that these pharmacies were a…
[...]Gavaza P, Shepherd MD*, Shcherbakova N, Khoza S. The state of health economics and pharmacoeconomics research in Russia: a systematic review. Journal of Pharmaceutical Health Services Research. 2010 Sept; 1(3):113-21.
Abstract.
Objectives To investigate the state of health economic research in Russia available in the English language by describing the number and characteristics of the articles, and assessing the quality of these articles.
Methods The study assessed the state of health economics and pharmacoeconomics research in Russia. We conducted a literature search to identify health economics articles pertaining to Russia. Each article in the final sample was scored by two reviewers independently using the data-collection form designed for the study.
Key findings In total, 16 studies investigating a wide variety of diseases were included in the study. These articles were published in 15 different journals all based outside of Russia between 1994 and 2009. On average, each article was written by seven authors. Most first authors had medical/clinical training and resided in the USA (n = 8) at the time of publication of the study. Based on a scale of 1–10, with 10 indicating the highest quality, the mean quality score for all studies was 8.09 (SD = 1.29) and 25% of the articles were of fair quality (score 5–7). The quality of articles was statistically significantly related (P < 0.05) to the primary health intervention (pharmaceuticals > non-pharmaceuticals) and primary training of the first author (medical > non-medical).
Conclusions The conduct of health economics and pharmacoeconomics research in Russia in the English language is limited and, on average, the published articles were of good quality. However, about one-quarter of published articles were of fair quality. More health economics research in English is warranted in Russia.
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