Short- and long-term impacts of the National Essential Medicines Policy on drug availability, price, and usage in a deprived rural county in southwestern China: an interrupted time series analysis across 8 years.

ABSTRACT:

Background

China's National Essential Medicines Policy (NEMP) has been implemented for over 15 years; yet empirical evidence on its long-term impacts is lacking, particularly in remote and rural regions. This study aims to assess the short-and long-term effects of NEMP on the drug availability, price, and usage in a deprived rural county in southwestern China.

Methods

A quasi-experimental design was employed, featuring a single-group pre-and-post comparison. We gathered 74,436 procurement records spanning from 2009 to 2016 from the drug warehouses of local medical institutions. Pharmaceutical data were analyzed quarterly, considering various policy and therapeutic attributes. Fisher's Drug Price Index (DPI-F) was calibrated for the retail and wholesale prices of a consistent

SUBMITTER: Xiong X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11390679 | biostudies-literature | 2024

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature