ArticlePloS one2021
Availability, prices and affordability of essential medicines: A cross-sectional survey in Hanam province, Vietnam.
Article in PloS one, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed.
- Availability, prices and affordability of nationally negotiated antidiabetic medicines in China: a national survey.BMC health services research · 2026Article
- Assessment of pricing, availability, and affordability of essential medicines in a resource-limited setting.Journal of pharmaceutical policy and practice · 2026Article
- Antibiotic self-medication and home storage among university students in Vietnam: a cross-sectional study.BMJ open · 2025Article
- Prevalence and associated factors of antibiotic self-medication and home storage among antibiotic users: a cross-sectional study in Vietnam.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Vietnamese people's behavior and future intention to purchase medicines and functional foods on the internet: a cross-sectional study.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Purchasing medicines and functional foods on the internet: a cross-sectional study investigating the knowledge, attitudes, and experience of Vietnamese people in 2023.BMC public health · 2024Article
- Knowledge, Attitude and Practice Regarding Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs and Corticosteroids Use Among Patients With Chronic Rheumatology Condition: A Cross-Sectional Study From Vietnam.Clinical medicine insights. Arthritis and musculoskeletal disorders · 2024Article
- Diabetes and blood glucose monitoring knowledge and practices among pharmacy professionals in Cambodia and Viet Nam: digital survey and education.BMC medical education · 2023Article
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo measure medicines' prices, availability, and affordability in Hanam, Vietnam.
methodsThe standardized methodology developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and Health Action International was used to survey 30 essential medicines (EMs) in 30 public health facilities and 35 private medicine outlets in 2020. The availability of medicine was computed as the percentage of health facilities in which this medicine was found on the data-collection day. International reference prices (IRPs) from Management Sciences for Health (2015) were used to compute Median Price Ratio (MPR). The affordability of treatments for common diseases was computed as the number of days' wages of the lowest-paid unskilled government worker needed to purchase medicines prescribed at a standard dose. Statistic analysis was done using R software version 4.1.1.
resultsThe mean availability of originator brands (OBs) and lowest-priced generics (LPGs) was 0.7%, 63.2% in the public sector, and 13.7%, 47.9% in the private sector, respectively. In private medicine outlets, the mean availability of both OBs and LPGs in urban areas was significantly higher than that in rural areas (p = 0.0013 and 0.0306, respectively). In the public sector, LPGs' prices were nearly equal to their IRPs (median MPRs = 0.95). In the private medicine outlets, OBs were generally sold at 6.24 times their IRPs while this figure for LPGs was 1.65. The affordability of LPGs in both sectors was good for all conditions, with standard treatments costing a day's wage or less.
conclusionIn both sectors, generic medicines were the predominant product type available. The availability of EMs was fairly high but still lower than WHO's benchmark. A national-scale study should be conducted to provide a comprehensive picture of the availability, prices, and affordability of EMs, thereby helping the government to identify the urgent priorities and improving access to EMs in Vietnam.
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