ArticlePloS one2019
The impact of the single exit price policy on a basket of generic medicines in South Africa, using a time series analysis from 1999 to 2014.
Article in PloS one, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 21 citations in OpenAlex.
- Evidence on the effectiveness of policies promoting price transparency - A systematic review.Health policy (Amsterdam, Netherlands) · 2023Pooled it
- Implementation of medicines pricing policies in sub-Saharan Africa: systematic review.Systematic reviews · 2022Pooled it
- Pesticide and pharmaceutical pollution in South Africa: a review of sources, impacts, and policy gaps.Environmental monitoring and assessment · 2026Review
- Lived experiences of ethical dilemmas in pricing life-saving medicines among private-sector pharmacists in Zimbabwe.African journal of primary health care & family medicine · 2026Article
- Time series analysis of the new tiering pricing policy for generic medicines in South Korea.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2026Article
- On paper; in practice: measuring compliance with official pricing policies in a large field study of essential medicines in Indonesia.Journal of pharmaceutical policy and practice · 2025Article
- Effects of transparent online open procurement on prices, volumes, and costs of medicines: an interrupted time series study in Ningxia, China.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2024Article
- Pharmaco-disparities in heart failure: a survey of the affordability of guideline recommended therapy in 10 countries.ESC heart failure · 2023Article
- Implementation of Medicines Pricing Policies in Ghana: The Interplay of Policy Content, Actors' Participation, and Context.International journal of health policy and management · 2023Article
- A Human Rights Case Study on Access to Pre-exposure Prophylaxis for Female Sex Workers in South Africa.Health and human rights · 2022Article
- Powers, engagements and resultant influences over the design and implementation of medicine pricing policies in Ghana.BMJ global health · 2022Article
- Essential Medicines in Universal Health Coverage: A Scoping Review of Public Health Law Interventions and How They Are Measured in Five Middle-Income Countries.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
2 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundRegulating pharmaceutical markets have become a key strategy by most governments in ensuring the availability and accessibility of quality medicines to its citizens. The South African government, when faced with high medicine prices, implemented the Single Exit Price (SEP) in 2004. This study assessed the impact of the of the Single Exit Price (SEP) regulation introduced in South Africa in 2004 on a basket of generic.
methodPrivate sector price data of a basket of medicines (December 1999 to December 2014) was obtained from various price files (Pharmacy Software Vendors and Community Pharmacy). The price of the medicine was expressed in a single unit dose. The medicines investigated used the WHO/HAI methodology. The Interrupted Time-Series (ITS) model was used to estimate the change in slope and level of medicines investigated (50 originator and its available generics) before and after the policy change.
resultsMajority of the medicines analysed reflect a substantial decrease in medicine prices immediately after implementation of the pricing regulations as reflected in both the change in level and the change in slope using the interrupted time series analysis. DISCUSSION: This study indicates that the SEP regulation had an impact on medicine pricing in South Africa in both the short (immediately on the introduction) and long term (over the study period). Most medicines investigated showed a smaller yearly increase in price compared to before regulations.
conclusionThis study provides evidence of the impact of medicine pricing intervention from a middle-income country, and useful lessons can be drawn by other developing countries looking at introducing medicine price controls.
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