Framework design of WHO and typical national essential medicine lists and its implications for China / 中国药房

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE To sort out the common presentation forms and components of the framework of domestic and foreign essential medicine lists （EMLs）， in order to provide reference for optimizing the framework of the Chinese EML. METHODS The latest edition of the EMLs of WHO， China， South Africa， India， Malaysia and other typical countries were compared， and the similarities and differences of the presentation form and constituent elements of the list framework were analyzed. RESULTS & CONCLUSIONS The common presentation forms of WHO and typical countries’ EMLs included version， classifications and symbols， of which management ideas， functions， and implementation difficulties varied； common framework elements included target population， hospital levels， drug use conditions， core and supplementary lists and procurement priority. Through comparison， it was found that the information covered by the Chinese EML was relatively thin， and the framework design had not yet fully played the ideal role in guiding clinical rational drug use and optimizing the allocation of health resources， and there was still some room for improvement. It is recommended that China clarify the characteristics and roles of different presentation forms of the EML， and reasonably set the EML framework based on national conditions and development needs； the multi-dimensional drug information should be supplemented， such as clinical use， economy， and policy attributes of drugs in the EML， to ensure the rational use of essential drugs； it is also necessary to add “the level of hospitals” in the framework of the EML， refine the management requirements for the allocation and use of essential medicine， and optimize the resource allocation of hospitals.