Evaluating drug prices, availability, affordability, and price components: implications for access to drugs in Malaysia.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Malaysia's stable health care system is facing challenges with increasing medicine costs. To investigate these issues a survey was carried out to evaluate medicine prices, availability, affordability, and the structure of price components.

Methods and findings

The methodology developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and Health Action International (HAI) was used. Price and availability data for 48 medicines was collected from 20 public sector facilities, 32 private sector retail pharmacies and 20 dispensing doctors in four geographical regions of West Malaysia. Medicine prices were compared with international reference prices (IRPs) to obtain a median price ratio. The daily wage of the lowest paid unskilled government worker was used to gauge the affordabi

SUBMITTER: Babar ZU 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1831730 | biostudies-literature | 2007 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature