Gaceta sanitaria
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Biography Historical Article
[Alan Harold Williams. Pioneer and promoter of health economics].
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Comparative Study
[Prescription of cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors: an intervention strategy in primary care].
To evaluate an intervention designed to rationalize prescription of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), especially cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors (COXIBs). ⋯ The educational intervention was associated with improvements in prescription of NSAIDs, although some of the improvement was probably due to the safety alert issued during the study period.
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To characterize the peculiar economic nature of the pharmaceutical market in the EU, to study potential groupings of countries based on several pharmaceutical variables, to analyze some recent regulations designed to create the single market, and to present some thoughts on the decision making process in public health from the perspective of current public health budgets. ⋯ The creation of a single market for drugs in the EU should take this regulatory diversity into account and seek equilibrium between economic factors and public health. This single market may be a dangerous strategy if it becomes a general dogma and even more so if deadlines are fixed and short.
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To assess the influence of pharmacists' opinions on their dispensing medicines with a "medical prescription only" label without requiring a doctor's prescription. ⋯ Our results suggest that to increase the quality of dispensing: a) the importance of the pharmacist's duty in controlling drug consumption should be stressed; b) pharmacies' workload should be optimized; and c) perceptions of physicians' prescribing practices among pharmacists should be improved.