How the west controls pharmaceutical prices: lessons for Malaysia

Drug price in Malaysia has increased substantially over the years. Malaysian policymakers may learn from the Western countries on how to control pharmaceutical spending. We conducted a review to assess the pharmaceutical strategies adopted in Western countries to curb pharmaceutical pricing and comp...

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Main Authors: Amirul Ashraf, Ong, Siew Chin
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Pusat Perubatan Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2022
Online Access:http://journalarticle.ukm.my/22345/
http://journalarticle.ukm.my/22345/1/How%20the%20West%20Controls%20Pharmaceutical%20Prices.pdf
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author Amirul Ashraf,
Ong, Siew Chin
author_facet Amirul Ashraf,
Ong, Siew Chin
author_sort Amirul Ashraf,
building UKM Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Drug price in Malaysia has increased substantially over the years. Malaysian policymakers may learn from the Western countries on how to control pharmaceutical spending. We conducted a review to assess the pharmaceutical strategies adopted in Western countries to curb pharmaceutical pricing and compared it with thecurrent Malaysian system. The study found that the European countries adopted a regulated pharmaceutical market. In this regulated market, the price of the drugs will be determined using external reference pricing. The reimbursement and pricing of the drugs are also based on a set of guidelines rather than arbitrary nature. Additionally, the health technology assessment in the European countries utilised rating systems to categorise the added therapeutic benefit of the drugs. This rating system will add more information for price negotiation between the government and pharmaceutical manufacturers. Furthermore, cost-effectiveness analysis is also being incorporated into the decision-making process to ascertain the optimal use of scarce health resources. On top of that, pooled procurement system has been established in order to benefit from the higher volume purchasing. These measures may help Malaysia to ensure that the pharmaceutical spending remain sustainable and that Malaysians, will continue to have access toward a high-quality and affordable healthcare in the future.
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spelling oai:generic.eprints.org:223452023-10-19T00:41:33Z http://journalarticle.ukm.my/22345/ How the west controls pharmaceutical prices: lessons for Malaysia Amirul Ashraf, Ong, Siew Chin Drug price in Malaysia has increased substantially over the years. Malaysian policymakers may learn from the Western countries on how to control pharmaceutical spending. We conducted a review to assess the pharmaceutical strategies adopted in Western countries to curb pharmaceutical pricing and compared it with thecurrent Malaysian system. The study found that the European countries adopted a regulated pharmaceutical market. In this regulated market, the price of the drugs will be determined using external reference pricing. The reimbursement and pricing of the drugs are also based on a set of guidelines rather than arbitrary nature. Additionally, the health technology assessment in the European countries utilised rating systems to categorise the added therapeutic benefit of the drugs. This rating system will add more information for price negotiation between the government and pharmaceutical manufacturers. Furthermore, cost-effectiveness analysis is also being incorporated into the decision-making process to ascertain the optimal use of scarce health resources. On top of that, pooled procurement system has been established in order to benefit from the higher volume purchasing. These measures may help Malaysia to ensure that the pharmaceutical spending remain sustainable and that Malaysians, will continue to have access toward a high-quality and affordable healthcare in the future. Pusat Perubatan Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2022-12 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://journalarticle.ukm.my/22345/1/How%20the%20West%20Controls%20Pharmaceutical%20Prices.pdf Amirul Ashraf, and Ong, Siew Chin (2022) How the west controls pharmaceutical prices: lessons for Malaysia. Medicine & Health, 17 (2). pp. 1-14. ISSN 2289-5728 https://www.medicineandhealthukm.com/
spellingShingle Amirul Ashraf,
Ong, Siew Chin
How the west controls pharmaceutical prices: lessons for Malaysia
title How the west controls pharmaceutical prices: lessons for Malaysia
title_full How the west controls pharmaceutical prices: lessons for Malaysia
title_fullStr How the west controls pharmaceutical prices: lessons for Malaysia
title_full_unstemmed How the west controls pharmaceutical prices: lessons for Malaysia
title_short How the west controls pharmaceutical prices: lessons for Malaysia
title_sort how the west controls pharmaceutical prices: lessons for malaysia
url http://journalarticle.ukm.my/22345/
http://journalarticle.ukm.my/22345/
http://journalarticle.ukm.my/22345/1/How%20the%20West%20Controls%20Pharmaceutical%20Prices.pdf