ArticleInternational journal of environmental research and public health2020
Prices, Availability and Affordability of Medicines with Value-Added Tax Exemption: A Cross-Sectional Survey in the Philippines.
Article in International journal of environmental research and public health, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers.
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Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed.
- Inequality in prevalence of unmedicated hypertension or diabetes among older Filipinos: analysis of nationally representative survey data.International journal of cardiology. Cardiovascular risk and prevention · 2026Article
- In-vitro ACE-1 Inhibitory Activity ofActa medica Philippina · 2026Article
- From theory to compassion: Why duloxetine matters for chemotherapy-induced neuropathy in the Global South.Palliative & supportive care · 2025Article
- The availability of essential medicines in public healthcare facilities in Afghanistan: navigating sociopolitical and geographical challenges.Health policy and planning · 2025Article
- Assessing Household Out-of-Pocket Expenditures for Non-communicable Diseases in a 4Acta medica Philippina · 2025Article
- Availability and Affordability of Essential Antihypertensive Medicines in Public and Private Primary Care Drug Facilities in a 4Acta medica Philippina · 2025Article
- Bridging the Gap: Reducing Health Inequities in Access to Preventive Health Care Services in Rural Communities in the Philippines.Journal of transcultural nursing : official journal of the Transcultural Nursing Society · 2025Article
- The availability of essential medicines in primary health centres in Indonesia: achievements and challenges across the archipelago.The Lancet regional health. Southeast Asia · 2024Article
- Cost and availability of selected medicines after implementation of increased import verification fees.BMC health services research · 2024Article
- Initiating or Switching to Insulin Degludec/Insulin Aspart in Adults With Type 2 Diabetes in the Philippines: Results from a Prospective, Non-interventional, Real-World Study.Journal of the ASEAN Federation of Endocrine Societies · 2024Article
- Bioequivalence Study of Two Formulations of Simvastatin 20 mg Tablet in Healthy Filipino Participants under Fasting Conditions: A Randomized, Open-label, Two-way Crossover Study.Acta medica Philippina · 2024Article
- Impact of the National Drug Price Negotiation policy on the price, usage, and affordability of anticancer medicines in Shandong Province, China.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- Barriers to accessibility of medicines for hyperlipidemia in low- and middle-income countries.PLOS global public health · 2024Article
- 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 Cross-Sectional Study of Price and Affordability of Drugs for Rare Diseases in Shandong Province, China.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Forming a medicines pricing policy for low and middle-income countries (LMICs): the case for Pakistan.Journal of pharmaceutical policy and practice · 2022Article
- What Factors Hindered the Access to Essential Anticancer Medicine in Public Hospitals for the Local Population in Hubei Province, China.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2021Article
- Evaluating Price and Availability of Essential Medicines in China: A Mixed Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Study.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2020Article
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10 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundDeveloping countries, such as the Philippines, started implementing policies to improve access to medicines, which is a vital step toward universal healthcare coverage. This study aimed to evaluate the prices, availability and affordability of prescribed medicines for diabetes, hypercholesterolemia and hypertension with the exemption of 12% value-added tax in the Philippines.
methodsThe prices and availability of 50 medicines were collected in August 2019 from 36 public and 42 private medicine outlets in six regions of the Philippines, following a modified methodology developed by the World Health Organization and Health Action International. Availability is reported as the percentage of outlets in which the surveyed medicine was found at the time of visit. Medicine prices are expressed as median unit prices (MUPs) in Philippine Peso. Affordability is calculated based on the number of days' wages required for the lowest-paid unskilled government worker to purchase a monthly treatment.
resultsThe mean availability of surveyed medicines was low in both public and private sectors, with 1.3% for originator brands (OBs) and 25.0% for lowest-priced generics (LPGs) in public outlets, and 34.7% and 35.4% in private outlets, respectively. The MUP of medicines were higher in private outlets, and OBs have higher unit price compared to the generic equivalents. Treatments with OBs were unaffordable, except for gliclazide, but the affordability of most LPGs is generally good.
conclusionAccess to medicines in both sectors was affected by low availability. High prices of OBs influenced the affordability of medicines even with tax exemption. A review of policies and regulations should be initiated for a better access to medicines in the Philippines.
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