E-DRUG: Recent publications on using human rights law to support access to medicines
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Dear colleagues
Prof Hans Hogerzeil, Prof Brigit Toebes, and I authored a commentary
on the *human rights approach to reimbursing expensive medicines *in the Dec 2016 issue
of the Bulletin of the World Health Organisation,
pdf available here:
http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/94/12/15-166371.pdf?ua=1
Summary: Hot public debate and the growing trend of patients seeking **access
to expensive, non-reimbursed medicines** through domestic courts raises the
question: How can governments with finite public health budgets ensure fair
access to these medicines as part of the right to health?
*We argue that human rights law and especially the concept of progressive
realisation means that while all patients have an equal right to access
essential medicines, the order and timing of its fulfilment is gradual.
Progressive realization justifies ranking treatments for reimbursement,
with more cost-effective treatments being included first. It also supports
not reimbursing treatments which are much more costly in relation to their
benefit than other non-reimbursed treatments – preventing some vocal
patients from 'jumping the queue'
Governments also have the responsibility to use a maximum of their
available resources and to use all available tools to reduce medicines
prices. Pharmaceutical companies have a duty under human rights law to
ensure that the fruits of science are made available and affordable to all
who need them.
Earlier this year we also published an article investigating *governments'
commitments in national constitutions to provide essential medicines* in
the June 2016 issue of the Health & Human Rights journal, pdf available
here:
https://cdn2.sph.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2016/06/Perehudoff1.pdf
*Summary: Thirteen national constitutions include a state duty to provide
access to medicines or essential goods as part of the right to health. Nine
of these constitutions were amended or adopted after 2008. Model language
was identified in the Constitutions of Ecuador and Panama.*
This research stream on law and policy for universal access to
medicines is part of a research collaboration between the Global
Health Unit in the Dept. of Health Sciences, University Medical Centre
Groningen and the Global Health Law Groningen Research Centre at the
University of Groningen's Faculty of Law in the Netherlands.
Don't hesitate to contact me should you have questions or comments.
Best wishes
Katrina Perehudoff, MSc LLM
PhD Candidate | Global Health Unit, Department of Health
Sciences> University Medical Centre Groningen
Research Fellow | Global Health Law Groningen Research Centre
Faculty of Law | University of Groningen, the Netherlands
Katrina Perehudoff <katrina.perehudoff@gmail.com>