ArticleInternational journal for equity in health2015
Urban-rural inequality regarding drug prescriptions in primary care facilities - a pre-post comparison of the National Essential Medicines Scheme of China.
Article in International journal for equity in health, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers.
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Who cites it
22 citing papers in PubMed.
- The analysis of the leukemia mortality rate and its temporal trends in China from 2004 to 2021.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Longitudinal Trends in Medicine Supply, Price and Utilisation in Primary Care Facilities in Rural Southwestern China Under National Essential Medicines Policy (2012-2017): Disparities Across Facilities and Medicines.International journal of health policy and management · 2025Article
- Measuring and optimizing the spatial accessibility of primary health care in remote and rural areas: a case study of Liannan Yao Autonomous County in China.BMC health services research · 2024Article
- Trends in antidiabetic drug use and expenditure in public hospitals in Northwest China, 2012-21: a case study of Gansu Province.BMC health services research · 2024Article
- Short- and long-term impacts of the National Essential Medicines Policy on drug availability, price, and usage in a deprived rural county in southwestern China: an interrupted time series analysis across 8 years.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- Interventions to optimize the use of antibiotics in China: A scoping review of evidence from humans, animals, and the environment from a One Health perspective.One health (Amsterdam, Netherlands) · 2022Article
- Identifying key influences on antibiotic use in China: a systematic scoping review and narrative synthesis.BMJ open · 2022Article
- Trends, Variation, and Factors Influencing Antibiotic Prescribing: A Longitudinal Study in Primary Care Using a Multilevel Modelling Approach.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- An equity evaluation in stroke inpatients in regard to medical costs in China: a nationwide study.BMC health services research · 2021Article
- Optimization for Locating Emergency Medical Service Facilities: A Case Study for Health Planning from China.Risk management and healthcare policy · 2021Article
- The comparison of healthcare utilization inequity between URRBMI and NCMS in rural China.International journal for equity in health · 2019Article
- The health service capacity of primary health care in West China: different perspectives of physicians and their patients.BMC health services research · 2019Article
- Knowledge, Attitudes And Practices Regarding The Use Of Antibiotics. Study On The General Population Of Mureş County, Romania.Infection and drug resistance · 2019Article
- Interventions to Reduce Antibiotic Prescribing in LMICs: A Scoping Review of Evidence from Human and Animal Health Systems.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2018Article
- Rural Versus Urban Patients: Benchmarking the Outcomes of Patients with Acute Myocardial Infarction in Shanxi, China from 2013 to 2017.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2018Article
- Sino-Australian University Partnership in Health Management Education.Frontiers in public health · 2018Article
- The impacts of implementation of National Essential Medicines Policies on primary healthcare institutions: a cross-sectional study in China.BMC health services research · 2017Article
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- Prescribing Patterns in Outpatient Clinics of Township Hospitals in China: A Comparative Study before and after the 2009 Health System Reform.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2016Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo assess the impact of the National Essential Medicines Scheme (NEMS) with respect to urban-rural inequalities regarding drug prescriptions in primary care facilities.
methodsA stratified two-stage random sampling strategy was used to sample 23,040 prescriptions from 192 primary care facilities from 2009 to 2010. Difference-in-Difference (DID) analyses were performed to test the association between NEMS and urban-rural gaps in prescription patterns. Between-Group Variance and Theil Index were calculated to measure urban-rural absolute and relative disparities in drug prescriptions.
resultsThe use of the Essential Medicines List (EML) achieved a compliance rate of up to 90% in both urban and rural facilities. An overall reduction of average prescription cost improved economic access to drugs for patients in both areas. However, we observed an increased urban-rural disparity in average expenditure per prescription. The rate of antibiotics and glucocorticoids prescription remained high, despite a reduced disparity between urban and rural facilities. The average incidence of antibiotic prescription increased slightly in urban facilities (62 to 63%) and reduced in rural facilities (67% to 66%). The urban-rural disparity in the use of parenteral administration (injections and infusions) increased, albeit at a high level in both areas (44%-52%).
conclusionNEMS interventions are effective in reducing the overall average prescription costs. Despite the increased use of the EML, indicator performances with respect to rational drug prescribing and use remain poor and exceed the WHO/INRUD recommended cutoff values and worldwide benchmarks. There is an increased gap between urban and rural areas in the use of parenteral administration and expenditure per prescription.
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