Non-available medicines (NAM): a challenge for public health and pharmacoepidemiological methodology

FONTANA, D; DIAZ, P; TOGNONI, G; MAZZIERI, MR

Latin American Journal of Pharmacy

College of Pharmacists of Buenos Aires Province

Año: 2014 vol. 33 p. 1510 - 1510

0326 2383

he purpose of this study was to explore the issue of non-availability of drugs from the operational definitions of its components and to develop a methodology for the analysis of the problem. Pharmacoepidemiological fieldwork methodologies were conducted in public and private health institutions. In all,1,200 health professionals were selected as informants, and more than 3,000 records of patients were analyzed. Non-Available Medicine (NAM) was the definition proposed. The 1,217 NAMs identified were classified in medicines not-marketed in Argentina, orphan formulations and drugs with off-label use. These NAMs can be needed for common, rare and neglected diseases. Survey data supported the proposed definition of NAM, and validated the developed methodology. The use of participatory strategies, alternative approaches, triangulation of methodologies, data and theories, allowed us to integrate all aspects of the problem, to get reliable information and yielded a complete picture of the mu