Rui Liu
Affiliated
Substandard and falsified medical products are a global public health threat. A pilot survey of awareness among physicians in Sweden
Author
Summary, in English
Background
Substandard and falsified medical products are a public health threat, primarily associated with low- and middle-income countries. Today, the phenomenon also exists in high-income countries. Increased Internet access has opened a global market. Self-diagnosis and self-prescription have boosted the market for unregulated websites with access to falsified medicines.
Aim
To describe the state of knowledge and experience on SF medical products among emergency physicians (EPs) and general practitioners (GPs) in Sweden.
Methods
An online survey with anonymous answers from 100 EPs and 100 GPs. Physicians were recruited from TNS SIFO’s medical database. The term in the survey was ‘illegal and falsified medicines’ which was common in Sweden at that time. It corresponds well with the term ‘substandard and falsified medical products’ that the WHO launched shortly after our data collection. We report our results with this term.
Results
In Sweden, 78.5% of the physicians had heard the term ‘illegal and falsified medicines’ and 36.5% had met patients they suspected had taken it. Physicians lacked awareness of the use of the reporting system and wanted more knowledge about how to deal with patients who have possibly used falsified medicines.
Conclusions
To meet the public health threat of SF medical products, physicians need more knowledge.
Substandard and falsified medical products are a public health threat, primarily associated with low- and middle-income countries. Today, the phenomenon also exists in high-income countries. Increased Internet access has opened a global market. Self-diagnosis and self-prescription have boosted the market for unregulated websites with access to falsified medicines.
Aim
To describe the state of knowledge and experience on SF medical products among emergency physicians (EPs) and general practitioners (GPs) in Sweden.
Methods
An online survey with anonymous answers from 100 EPs and 100 GPs. Physicians were recruited from TNS SIFO’s medical database. The term in the survey was ‘illegal and falsified medicines’ which was common in Sweden at that time. It corresponds well with the term ‘substandard and falsified medical products’ that the WHO launched shortly after our data collection. We report our results with this term.
Results
In Sweden, 78.5% of the physicians had heard the term ‘illegal and falsified medicines’ and 36.5% had met patients they suspected had taken it. Physicians lacked awareness of the use of the reporting system and wanted more knowledge about how to deal with patients who have possibly used falsified medicines.
Conclusions
To meet the public health threat of SF medical products, physicians need more knowledge.
Department/s
- Family Medicine and Community Medicine
- Department of Service Studies
- Division of Ethnology
Publishing year
2019
Language
English
Pages
95-102
Publication/Series
Journal of Public Health
Volume
41
Issue
1
Document type
Journal article
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Topic
- Pharmaceutical Sciences
- Ethnology
Keywords
- drug abuse
- emergency care
- primary care
Status
Published
Project
- Illegal drugs - gathering information from the public and doctors. A preliminary evaluation of the implementation of knowledge in society. LUinnovation/VINNOVA (Projekt ID: 2014-1006)
- Medical humanities research node
- Cultures of Consumption
Research group
- Family Medicine and Community Medicine
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISSN: 1741-3850