Chilean pharmaceutical policy
Encyclopedia
The Chilean Pharmaceutical Policy was an attempt in the 1960s and 1970s to introduce a rational national pharmaceuticals policy
. Chile
was perhaps the first country in the world to introduce the concept of a limited number of essential drugs.
In 1965 the government of President Eduardo Frei
took measures to rationalise drug supply and use and in 1967, a national formulary with a limited list of drugs came into being. In 1970, Salvador Allende
was elected to power and rationalisation of the pharmaceutical supply system continued.
The next step was to organise centralised bulk procurement. The first international tender for raw materials was called in 1971. However, the pharmaceutical industry struck back: in the three months following the call for tender, widely used drugs, including analgesics and antibiotics, disappeared from the market. The manufacturers had cut their production. They agreed to replenish the market within one week only if the international tenders were called off.
In 1972, the government was forced to succumb and called off the tenders. In 1973, the government of Allende was toppled and the first essential drug programme hitherto known was dead.
National pharmaceuticals policy
A National Pharmaceuticals Policy is one that aims at ensuring that people get good quality drugs at the lowest possible price, and that doctors prescribe the minimum of required drugs in order to treat the patient's illness...
. Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
was perhaps the first country in the world to introduce the concept of a limited number of essential drugs.
In 1965 the government of President Eduardo Frei
Eduardo Frei Montalva
Eduardo Frei Montalva was a Chilean political leader of world stature. In his long political career, he was Minister of Public Works, president of his Christian Democratic Party, senator, President of the Senate, and president of Chile from 1964 to 1970...
took measures to rationalise drug supply and use and in 1967, a national formulary with a limited list of drugs came into being. In 1970, Salvador Allende
Salvador Allende
Salvador Allende Gossens was a Chilean physician and politician who is generally considered the first democratically elected Marxist to become president of a country in Latin America....
was elected to power and rationalisation of the pharmaceutical supply system continued.
The next step was to organise centralised bulk procurement. The first international tender for raw materials was called in 1971. However, the pharmaceutical industry struck back: in the three months following the call for tender, widely used drugs, including analgesics and antibiotics, disappeared from the market. The manufacturers had cut their production. They agreed to replenish the market within one week only if the international tenders were called off.
In 1972, the government was forced to succumb and called off the tenders. In 1973, the government of Allende was toppled and the first essential drug programme hitherto known was dead.
See also
- Pharmaceutical companyPharmaceutical companyThe pharmaceutical industry develops, produces, and markets drugs licensed for use as medications. Pharmaceutical companies are allowed to deal in generic and/or brand medications and medical devices...
- Public healthPublic healthPublic health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals" . It is concerned with threats to health based on population health...
- Presidential Republic Era (1924-1973)