E-DRUG: PIEMEDS, a new Price Information Exchange website in the Pacific
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[Medicines pricing information is increasingly becoming available. Apart
from the just released 2009 version of the International Drug Price
Indicator guide (see http://erc.msh.org/) and the HAI website
(http://www.haiweb.org/medicineprices/), I would like to recommend
E-druggers to have a look at PIEMEDS (http://www.piemeds.com/) which
after a simple registration allows you to see the prices of essential
medicines in Pacific states in a transparent bar diagram. And when you
click on the bar, you see the quantity purchased as well as the
supplier. This makes pricing information very transparent! Well done,
WPRO! We hope that other regions will also adopt this interesting way of
disclosing medicines pricing information. Below a copy of the "about
PIE" web page; happy surfing! WB]
http://www.piemeds.com/users/page/AboutRmpies
About PIE
The Price Information Exchange website contains procurement prices in
the public sector for selected medicines that participating countries in
the Western Pacific Region have shared voluntarily. The information was
collected and processed by the WHO Western Pacific Regional Office in
collaboration with the University of Philippines Manila - National
Telehealth Center.
The website provides comparative information on procurement prices for
selected medicines across the Western Pacific Region that countries can
use in influencing actions to make medicines more affordable and in
negotiating with suppliers.
The Western Pacific Region established this information exchange on
medicine prices as recommended in The WHO Regional Strategy for
Improving Access to Essential Medicines in the Western Pacific Region
(2005-2010), which addresses these relevant facts:
. price is a significant barrier to access medicines
. there are major differences in medicines prices across countries in
the region;
. exchanging price information among countries may help in-country
negotiations with suppliers and influence policy and managerial
decisions to take measures towards reducing prices, if they appear to be
too high when compared to other countries in the Region.
Methodology
Countries in the Region were invited to participate in Price Information
Exchange for selected medicines project by providing two types of
information through:
1. structured questionnaires about public procurement policies and
basic information on the medicines supply system.
2. information provided on elected medicines, specifically generic name;
dosage and dosage form; brand or product name; manufacturer; supplier's
name/country; quantity/volume procured; pack size; pack price; unit
price; date of procurement. (Click here for the glossary)
The list of medicines was selected to allow cross-country comparisons.
The list includes treatment for common acute and chronic conditions as
well as paediatric formulations. These medicines are available in
standard formulations and are widely used in almost all countries in the
Region. In the future rounds of data collection, this list may be
modified and expanded.(Click here to search medicines)
In the first round, 18 countries responded between May and August 2009.
The information was collected and processed by WHO Western Pacific
Regional Office in collaboration with University of Philippines Manila -
National Telehealth Center.
Please note that all countries have different systems in place. Their
public procurement of medicines is based on national policies and
guidelines and can be centralized, decentralized or mixed. In some
countries in the Region, procurement of medicines is entirely
centralized (most Pacific island countries and areas) while in countries
with highly decentralized administrative systems, medicines are
procured at the regional/provincial or municipal level (most of inland
countries). This factor should be considered when viewing prices, as
countries with decentralized systems, their reported prices represent
only procurement prices of one region/province or municipality, but not
of the entire country.
Country profiles provide a brief description of the procurement systems
of countries and are intended to complement information in comparative
price charts. It is advisable to use price charts and country profiles
together. (Click here to search country profiles
How To Use PIE
. Prices shared by countries reflect the price that a country
procurement authority pays. They may be inclusive or exclusive of the
cost of shipping, handling, distribution, import fees, taxes etc. These
country specific details can be found in country profiles.
. You can view medicine prices by browsing by the generic name of the
medicine or participating country.
. When browsing by the generic name of the medicine, you can
"mouse-over" or click on the bars to get more details on individual
prices.
. All prices are presented in US$. For prices that were reported in
other currencies, the exchange rate to the US$ as of the reporting date
was used.
. Prices for which the information was incomplete were not included.
. All prices reflect the price per unit to allow cross-country
comparison.
. These data represent the public procurement prices at the time when
the information was collected.
. Some participating countries have decentralized systems of medicines
procurement, therefore these data represent prices of one
region/province but not of the entire country.
Terms of Use
The website is maintained by the University of the Philippines Manila -
National Telehealth Center in collaboration with the WHO Western Pacific
Regional Office.
Participating countries are responsible for ensuring accuracy of the
data they submit. While PIE went through a thorough process of
data-cleaning it is not liable for the consequences of erroneous data.
Published prices represent the public procurement price at a time when
the information was collected. These prices should not be deemed the
official price unless confirmed with the competent authorities in a
given country.
Prices shared by countries reflect the price that a country procurement
authority pays. They may be inclusive or exclusive of the cost of
shipping, handling, distribution, import fees, taxes, etc. These
country-specific details can be found in country profiles.
The published prices represent the public procurement price and do not
represent the price that is charged to a consumer.
PIE is a pilot project, intending to collect information from countries
on an annual basis. PIE does not guarantee that recent changes in prices
in participating countries will be automatically changed in the website,
unless requested by the participating country.
PIE is not responsible for the web links posted under "Resources".
By using PIE you agree to these terms of use without objection.
Any comments/queries may be sent to:
Essential Medicines and Health Technologies
World Health Organization
Western Pacific Regional Office
P.O. Box 2932
1000 Manila
Philippines
E-mail: EMT@wpro.who.int