The change of drug utilization in China's public healthcare institutions under the "4 + 7" centralized drug procurement policy: Evidence from a natural experiment in China.

ABSTRACT: Background: Improving drug accessibility and rational drug use are major challenges for China's healthcare reform. In 2018, the Chinese government introduced a novel nationwide policy of centralized drug procurement for off-patent drugs, focusing on improving drug utilization patterns of public medical institutions. Objective: To estimate the impacts of the Chinese centralized drug procurement policy (the so-called "4 + 7" policy) on drug utilization in public medical institutions. Methods: A retrospective natural experimental design and difference-in-difference method were applied using cross-region data extracted from the national procurement database. Eleven "4 + 7" pilot cities (intervention group) and eleven non-pilot provinces (control group) were matched. In add

SUBMITTER: Lu J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9445493 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature