Withdrawn medicines included in the essential medicines lists of 136 countries.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Essential medicines lists and related policies are intended to meet the priority health needs of populations and their implementation is associated with more appropriate use of medicines. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that countries carefully select the medicines to be included in their national essential medicines lists. Lists that are used to prioritize access to important treatments should not include medicines that have been withdrawn elsewhere because of an unfavourable benefit-to-harm balance; however, countries still list and use medicines that have been withdrawn worldwide. The objective of this study was to determine whether the national essential medicines lists of 137 countries include medicines that have been withdrawn in other countries.

SUBMITTER: Charles O 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6887519 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature