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Abstract: Objective: Hepatitis C is a chronic infectious liver disease that can lead to cirrhosis, liver cancer and liver failure. This study aimed to estimate the healthcare cost of treating chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) from the perspective of Ministry of Health hospitals in Malaysia. Methods: The cost analysis study was conducted from the healthcare provider's perspective. Healthcare sector resource utilisations for managing patients with chronic hepatitis C were obtained from a retrospective cohort study of patients with hepatitis C at Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital, Malaysia, between December 2008 and 2014. These utilisations were organised by disease stage. When no patients were available for a specific stage, resource utilisations were estimated using expert opinions collected through iterative structured interviews with two gastroenterologists. Key findings: There were 112 patients included in the final analysis. Ninety‐one per cent of these were male, and patients had a mean age of 45.8 (SE 1.1) years. The mean (SE) annual total cost for ‘mild and moderate chronic HCV’ was GBP 338.08 (58.95), that for ‘compensated cirrhosis chronic HCV’ was GBP 493.39 (162.57), that for ‘recovered, no HCV, history of mild fibrosis’ was GBP 259.73 (30.79), that for ‘recovered, no HCV, history of moderate fibrosis’ was GBP 257.09 (31.10), that for ‘recovered, no HCV, history of severe fibrosis’ was GBP 359.92, that for ‘decompensated cirrhosis’ was GBP 512.89 (214.12), and that for ‘hepatocellular carcinoma’ was GBP 426.08. Conclusions: Chronic HCV infection is generally a progressively expensive condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective This study aimed to investigate the effect of calendar packaging (CP) on medication adherence among hypertensive patients in Malaysia. Setting Outpatient Pharmacy Department, Kulim Hospital. Methods This was a parallel randomized controlled trial of CP (intervention group) versus normal pack (control group) for patients who were on daily dose antihypertensive drug (amlodipine).The primary outcome was medication adherence to amlodipine, assessed by medication possession ratio (MPR), percentage of on-time refills and Malay Version Morisky medication adherence scales. Key findings Eighty-three patients participated. The mean age (standard deviation) was 55.85 (10.25) and 56.55 (10.42) for intervention and control group respectively. This study found that intervention group has better medication adherence score than the control group measured by MPR, Morisky medication adherence score ( P < 0.05) and percentage of on-time refills ( P < 0.01). Intervention group showed a significantly lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure ( P < 0.05) compared to control group. Intervention group was significantly associated with higher medication adherence measured by MPR (β = 0.006, P < 0.05), Morisky scale (β = 0.365, P < 0.05) and percentage of on-time refill (β = 0.063, P < 0.01); in addition lower systolic blood pressure (β = −4.4, P < 0.05) after controlling for the study period and patient age. Conclusions This study found that CP could improve adherence to medication among hypertensive patients. The results also suggest possible improvement in blood pressure with the use of CP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives To assess the main factors that contributed to the increase in medicine expenditure of the National Health Insurance Fund in Sudan in the period 2006-2010. Methods A time-series decomposition analysis was adopted for pharmaceutical expenditure increases characterized by trends and seasonality (time-series data per quarter). The change in real spending is decomposed into three components: price, quantity and residual. The contributions of these components towards pharmaceutical expenditure were then determined by means of chained price and quantity indexes. Key findings The consumer price index rose by about 195.56% over the period of the study. The real spending index shows that real medicine expenditures increased by 66.30% during the period 2006-2010. Relative prices increased by 6.73%; Quantity increased by 91.04%, and the residual contribution decreased by 18.44%. Conclusion Price factors, quantity and residual are significant determinants of expenditure for the National Health Insurance Fund in Sudan. The largest contribution to the increase in real medicine expenditure was made by the quantity factor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives The current study aims to compare the retail prices of the 10 most prescribed drugs in Northern Malaysia and Australia. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted to compare the retail prices of the 10 most used prescription medications in Penang, Malaysia, with the retail prices of the same drugs in Australia. Data collection was done using a standard form. Percentage difference was calculated using simple mathematical formulae in Microsoft Excel. Key findings Findings demonstrate that the mean retail drug prices in Penang, Malaysia, were 30.30-148.28% higher than the mean retail prices in Australia. In addition, variation between retail prices was also noticed between pharmacies in Penang, with a difference between highest and lowest of 80%. Conclusion Malaysia has average higher retail prescription drug prices compared to Australia due to the lack of pharmaceutical market regulation, which could impose limits on prices, profits and total spending on pharmaceuticals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Unused medications have not only caused wastage, but improper disposal of unwanted medicines also has a negative impact on the environment and public health. The aim of this study was to study the public's knowledge, awareness and practice of disposing of unwanted or unused medicines in Malaysia. Methods: This was a descriptive, cross‐sectional survey conducted across Malaysia among the general public using a pre‐validated questionnaire. A non‐probability convenience sampling method was used for data collection. The approval of the study was obtained from ethics committee, and written consent was acquired from the participants prior to the data collection. Key findings: The study involved 483 subjects. Only 13.8% of the respondents scored >80% in their knowledge of the proper disposal methods. Majority of the respondents were very mindful of their responsibility towards the environment (95.3%), living species on earth (94.6%) and family members (96.7%) attributable to unintentional harmful exposure to unused medicines. Respondents admitted that they have unused medicines because they stop taking the medicines when they feel better (76.9%), doctor has changed their treatment (50.3%), experienced unwanted side effects (49%), did not take the medicines as instructed/prescribed (47.2%) and did not feel better after taking the medicines (46%). A substantial correlation has been established between the knowledge of improper disposal methods and their current practices. Conclusions: This finding suggested that a lack of knowledge and awareness is a major factor in the improper disposal of unused medicines. Therefore, an urgent need to increase public awareness through educational campaigns and Medication Return Program should be promoted more effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]