Author(s):
1. Mir Ibrahim Sajid:
Medical College, The Aga Khan University, Stadium Road, Karachi, Pakistan
2. Saiqa Khan:
Medical College, The Aga Khan University, Stadium Road, Karachi, Pakistan
3. Samira Shabbir Balouch:
KEMU/ Mayo Hospital, Lahore, Pakistan
4. Sajid Abaidullah:
KEMU/ Mayo Hospital, Lahore, Pakistan
Abstract:
Pakistan has experienced major turbulence in terms of drug pricing over the course of the past two years, with prices jumping as high as 260% of their original. A country with a large majority of population living in low socioeconomic settings, with an out-of-pocket health-care finance system, non-availability of statesponsored healthcare insurance, and this price hike meant that treatment was now a privilege, rather than an essential commodity. However, the government faces serious backlashes from pharmaceutical industrialists when it retorts to appeasing the general public. With a moderation and regulation in drug pricing comes an acute shortage of medicinal availability across the country. Could this be blackmail? Or a genuine need for a price hike to optimize profits from the sale of medicines made from imported chemicals?
Page(s):
458-459
DOI:
DOI not available
Published:
Journal: Annals of King Edward Medical University, Volume: 27, Issue: SI, Year: 2021
Keywords:
Pakistan
,
pharmaceuticals
,
Drug Sector
,
Transparency
,
Accountability
References:
References are not available for this document.
Citations
Citations are not available for this document.