Chile has developed several pharmaceutical policies during the last 10 years, aiming at improving the access of medicines. One of the most important policies implemented in 2014 was the generic substitution policy, which was designed to increase market competition by regulating the substitution of generic products for originator medicines. After three years of this policy, […]
It has been over 20 years since Taiwan’s implementation of its National Health Insurance (NHI) program. Under this program, the health insurance coverage rate has reached approximately 99 percent of the population – a significant improvement from 57 percent coverage prior to the NHI implementation. However, the Taiwan healthcare system continues to face major challenges. […]
Medicine developers are looking to medicine “repurposing” as a cost effective, reduced-risk strategy for developing new medicines. Repurposing refers to the concept or process of taking a medicine developed for one indication and applying it to another. A book chapter by Warren Kaplan in Pharmaceutical Policy in Countries with Developing Healthcare Systems discusses whether low- […]
Vaccines against the bacterium Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), a major cause of vaccine-preventable morbidity and mortality among children worldwide, have been available in the Indian private sector market since 1997. However, it was not until 2011 that the Government of India initiated the phased public sector introduction of an Hib vaccine. Despite this rollout, […]
In China, three major health insurance programs cover specific groups: rural residents under the New Rural Cooperative Medical Scheme (NCMS), urban employees under the Urban Employees Basic Medical Insurance (UE-BMI) and unemployed urban residents under the Urban Residents Basic Medical Insurance (UR-BMI). The three schemes function differently in how they are financed and operate, and […]