International Comparison of Drug Prices with Malaysia: A Systematic Review
Malaysia Drug Price International Comparison
Abstract
High drug price is a hot topic in Malaysia. In this systematic review of drug price comparison studies, we report on international comparison of drug prices with Malaysia. We systematically searched PubMed, Cochrane Library, ScienceDirect and Scopus for peer-reviewed articles. Only studies that made comparison internationally were included. Cost-effectiveness studies, budget impact analysis or costing studies were excluded. A total of 10 studies were included. Nine studies compared the price with median international reference prices (IRPs). Only one study compared the price with another country. The drug price in Malaysia for both government and public sectors was higher than IRP. This review provides the information that the drug price in Malaysia is higher than the international standard. The number of published studies in the drug pricing area is still inadequate with only one study that compares Malaysia drug price with another country. More studies are needed to improve Malaysia’s drug pricing system.
Keywords :
HEALTH EQUITY,
Health policy,
Pharmaceutical Services,
Public health,
Abstrak
Harga ubatan yang mahal merupakan topik hangat di Malaysia. Di dalam tinjauan kajian sistematik berkenaan perbandingan harga ubatan ini, kami melaporkan perbandingan antara harga ubatan antarabangsa dengan di Malaysia. Kami mengkaji secara sistematik dengan menggunakan PubMed, Cochrane Library, ScienceDirect dan Scopus. Hanya kajian yang melibatkan perbandingan antarabangsa dimasukkan. Kajian keberkesanan kos, analisis impak bajet dan kajian kos tidak dimasukkan.Sebanyak 10 kajian dimasukkan. Sembilan kajian membandingkan harga dengan harga median rujukan antarabangsa (IRP). Satu kajian membandingkan harga dengan negara lain. Harga ubatan di sektor awam dan swasta lebih tinggi dari IRP. Kajian ini memberi maklumat bahawa harga ubat di Malaysia lebih tinggi dari harga antarabangsa. Jumlah kajian yang diterbitkan dalam bidang ini juga belum mencukupi. Hanya satu kajian yang membandingkan dengan negara lain. Lebih banyak kajian diperlukan bagi menambahbaik sistem harga ubatan di Malaysia.
Kata Kunci :
ekuiti kesihatan,
kesihatan awam,
khidmat farmaseutikal,
polisi kesihatan,
Correspondance Address
Dr. Siew Chin Ong. Discipline of Social and Administrative Pharmacy, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia. Tel: +604-653 3888 Email: siewchinong@usm.my; oschin99@yahoo.com
