E-DRUG: Artemether/lumenfantrine - pack sizes, brand name issue (6)
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Dear Rob,
Thank you for your communication and I wish to share with you some concerns about this antimalarial product. The public sector in Namibia uses artemether/lumefantrine fixed dose combination since approximately one year now.
1. Of course, I asked myself why we have another brand product on the public market now, where the national medicines' policy has adopted the essential medicines' concept, and that includes the exclusive use of generic names for pharmaceutical products - for very good reasons as we know.
2. So far, I am not aware of any study looking into the effect of these blister packs on patients' compliance. Personally, I thought when I saw these different blisters first, that they may increase adherence; but then it is of course quite expensive to produce these blister packs. I support your suggestion that blisters with six tablets each could as well serve the purpose and with the right instructions a patient may take the tablets correctly.
3. The four different blister packs causes apparently confusion among pharmaceuticeutical staff too. Only this morning a colleague asked me whether the tablets in these four different blisters were of the same or different strengths, though we had discussed this issue several times since we received this medicines last year.
Regards Fritz Steinhausen
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Karl F. Steinhausen
Pharmacist
ART Clinic, State Hospital
P.O.Box 93
Keetmanshoop - NAMIBIA
ph: +264-63-22 55 23
mobile: +264-81-22 11 379
e-mail: kfsteinhausen@gmx.net