National Medicines Policy: A Malaysian Perspective by Salmah Bahri, Mohamed Izham Mohamed Ibrahim

"As part of the health policy of a country, national medicine policy should be an essential section which aimed at rational use of pharmaceuticals. World Health Organization supports country to develop, implement and monitor the effectiveness of national medicines policy’s guidelines, strategies and plans. A good and effective national medicine policy will ensure the availability, affordability, accessibility and rational usability of essential medicine, and traditional, complementary and alternative medicine. National medicine policy will make sure that medicines in the country are not only safe, effective and of good quality, but they must also be cost effective. When this book was written, Malaysia still has not had any comprehensive document on the national medicine policy. A study was conducted to evaluate the status of the pharmaceutical sector in relation to the national medicine policy components. This book provides information about the status of medicine policy in the country and to what extent the medicine policy makers recognize and are aware of the existence of medicine policy in the country. How can we expect for effective and reliable policies, if policy makers do not know or are not sure about the national medicine policy and the various medicine policies available in the country! The book is designed for academicians, practitioners, students, as well as policy makers in the health care institutions. The authors hope that these group of readers will appreciate the significant contribution of effective and reliable medicine policy for a country, especially for the developing nations."