Decision criteria for selecting essential medicines and their connection to guidelines: an interpretive descriptive qualitative interview study.

Background And Objectives: The World Health Organization Model List of Essential Medicines has led to at least 137 national lists. Essential medicines should be grounded in evidence-based guideline recommendations and explicit decision criteria. Essential medicines should be available, accessible, affordable, and the supporting evidence should be accompanied by a rating of the certainty one can place in it.

Management of type 1 diabetes in low- and middle-income countries: Comparative health system assessments in Kyrgyzstan, Mali, Peru and Tanzania.

Aims: To describe and compare the health system responses for type 1 diabetes in Kyrgyzstan, Mali, Peru and Tanzania.

Methods: The Rapid Assessment Protocol for Insulin Access, a multi-level assessment of the health system, was implemented in Kyrgyzstan, Mali, Peru and Tanzania using document reviews, site visits and interviews to assess the delivery of care and access to insulin.

Results: Despite the existence of noncommunicable or diabetes strategies and Universal Health Coverage policies including diabetes-related supplies, this has not necessarily translated into access to insulin or diabetes care for all.

Availability, prices, and affordability of selected essential cancer medicines in a middle-income country - the case of Mexico.

Background: More alternatives have become available for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer in low- and middle-income countries. Because of increasing demands, governments are now facing a problem of limited affordability and availability of essential cancer medicines. Yet, precise information about the access to these medicines is limited, and the methodology is not very well developed.

WHO guide to good prescribing is 25 years old: quo vadis?

Introduction: Twenty-five years ago, the World Health Organization (WHO) published the Guide to Good Prescribing (GGP), followed by the accompanying Teacher's Guide to Good Prescribing (TGGP). The GGP is based on a normative 6-step model for therapeutic reasoning and prescribing, and provides a six-step guide for students to the process of rational prescribing.

Method: We reviewed the need to update both WHO publications by evaluating their use and impact, including new (theoretical) insights and demands.