Policy Analysis Of Iranian Pharmaceutical Sector; A Qualitative Study.
Risk Manag Healthc Policy 2019;
12:199-208. [PMID:
31807100 PMCID:
PMC6847995 DOI:
10.2147/rmhp.s209318]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2019] [Accepted: 10/17/2019] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Introduction
Improving public health through providing affordable and accessible pharmaceuticals is among the concerns of governments worldwide. This study aimed to analyze Iran’s pharmaceutical sector policies in order to identify the challenges and suggest some strategic solutions to overcome such challenges.
Methods
Top managers (15), middle managers (10), and operational managers (5) working in the Food and Drug Administration of Iranian Ministry of Health along with community pharmacists (5) participated in a qualitative study using semi-structured in-depth interviews. Data were recorded, transcribed, and then analyzed via MAXQDA 10 software.
Results
Policies for national pharmaceutical sector were divided into four groups of “research & development”, “import & export”, “pharmaceutical procurement”, and “pharmaceutical supply and distribution”. Then, the challenges faced by each sector were extracted. Considering the challenges, some policy options were recommended for growth and development of national pharmaceutical sector.
Conclusion
Iran’s pharmaceutical sector has managerial and administrative differences compared with overseas pharmaceutical sectors. These differences are the main reasons for the current status of Iran’s pharmaceutical sector and have put Iran behind foreign pharmaceutical sectors. Iran’s pharmaceutical sector has endured many critical periods during recent decades and has gained great experience during these stages. Therefore, it is believed that Iran’s pharmaceutical sector, with its experience and potential, is capable of producing world-level medicines.
Collapse