{"title":"Availability, price, and affordability of anti-hepatitis B virus drugs: a cross-sectional study in China.","authors":"Yue Li, Mengdie Zhang, Yi Xu, Xin Li, Tao Lu","doi":"10.1007/s11096-024-01706-0","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The global prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) has presented a persistent challenge for public health prevention and treatment. However, studies that assess the public's access to anti-HBV drugs are absent.</p><p><strong>Aim: </strong>To examine the availability, pricing, and affordability of anti-HBV drugs in Jiangsu province, China and provide recommendations for improvement.</p><p><strong>Method: </strong>An enhanced methodology developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and Health Action International was applied in a cross-sectional study that included 1026 healthcare facilities distributed in 13 prefectural-level cities in Jiangsu province.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Since almost all drugs had an availability of less than 30%, the accessibility of anti-HBV drugs was notably low. Primary healthcare facilities had the lowest availability, reporting 1.4% for Original Brands (OBs) and 1.7% for lowest-priced generics (LPGs). Furthermore, the northern Jiangsu region recorded the lowest availability at 0.7%. LPGs demonstrated higher availability than OBs, with median availability probabilities of 2.6% and 1.4%, respectively. The drugs listed on the WHO Essential Medicines List exhibited higher availability than those on other lists. The median price ratios for OBs, LPGs, and volume-based purchasing drugs were 0.83, 0.50, and 0.27, respectively, less than 1.5 times the international reference price. Despite favorable pricing, affordability rate was 23% for urban residents and 0% for rural residents, which was discouraging.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Low availability and affordability of anti-HBV drugs were observed. Policy recommendations should emphasize the improvement of LPG availability by incentivizing priority prescribing. Healthcare subsidies should be provided more effectively and equitably.</p>","PeriodicalId":13828,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.6000,"publicationDate":"2024-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s11096-024-01706-0","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2024/3/12 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"PHARMACOLOGY & PHARMACY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: The global prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) has presented a persistent challenge for public health prevention and treatment. However, studies that assess the public's access to anti-HBV drugs are absent.
Aim: To examine the availability, pricing, and affordability of anti-HBV drugs in Jiangsu province, China and provide recommendations for improvement.
Method: An enhanced methodology developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and Health Action International was applied in a cross-sectional study that included 1026 healthcare facilities distributed in 13 prefectural-level cities in Jiangsu province.
Results: Since almost all drugs had an availability of less than 30%, the accessibility of anti-HBV drugs was notably low. Primary healthcare facilities had the lowest availability, reporting 1.4% for Original Brands (OBs) and 1.7% for lowest-priced generics (LPGs). Furthermore, the northern Jiangsu region recorded the lowest availability at 0.7%. LPGs demonstrated higher availability than OBs, with median availability probabilities of 2.6% and 1.4%, respectively. The drugs listed on the WHO Essential Medicines List exhibited higher availability than those on other lists. The median price ratios for OBs, LPGs, and volume-based purchasing drugs were 0.83, 0.50, and 0.27, respectively, less than 1.5 times the international reference price. Despite favorable pricing, affordability rate was 23% for urban residents and 0% for rural residents, which was discouraging.
Conclusion: Low availability and affordability of anti-HBV drugs were observed. Policy recommendations should emphasize the improvement of LPG availability by incentivizing priority prescribing. Healthcare subsidies should be provided more effectively and equitably.
期刊介绍:
The International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy (IJCP) offers a platform for articles on research in Clinical Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Care and related practice-oriented subjects in the pharmaceutical sciences.
IJCP is a bi-monthly, international, peer-reviewed journal that publishes original research data, new ideas and discussions on pharmacotherapy and outcome research, clinical pharmacy, pharmacoepidemiology, pharmacoeconomics, the clinical use of medicines, medical devices and laboratory tests, information on medicines and medical devices information, pharmacy services research, medication management, other clinical aspects of pharmacy.
IJCP publishes original Research articles, Review articles , Short research reports, Commentaries, book reviews, and Letters to the Editor.
International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy is affiliated with the European Society of Clinical Pharmacy (ESCP). ESCP promotes practice and research in Clinical Pharmacy, especially in Europe. The general aim of the society is to advance education, practice and research in Clinical Pharmacy .
Until 2010 the journal was called Pharmacy World & Science.