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Pharmaceutical Policy in Saudi Arabia

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Pharmaceutical Policy in Countries with Developing Healthcare Systems

Abstract

Saudi Arabia has a well-developed national medicine policy as well as a well-established drug regulatory framework. Moreover, there is a well-defined pharmaceutical pricing policy, and the medicine prices are strictly controlled. The Saudi Pharmaceutical market is the largest market in the Middle East and African (MEA) region. Moreover, it is heavily dependent on imported medicines and dominated by patented and original medicines. Regarding rational use of medicines, there are several issues that need to be addressed. These include unrestricted access to medicines in the community pharmacies. Moreover, the involvement of community pharmacists in promoting rational use of medicines is currently limited. Additionally, generic medicines are still underutilized in the healthcare system. The way forward is the full implementation of these policies and the stricter enforcement of the laws governing medicines sales and dispensing.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Unaizah College of Pharmacy, Qassim University, Qassim, Saudi Arabia

    Alian A. Alrasheedy

  2. Discipline of Social and Administrative Pharmacy, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800, Minden, Penang, Malaysia

    Mohamed Azmi Hassali & Saleh Karamah AL-Tamimi

  3. Pharmacy Department, Hospital Teluk Intan, Jalan Changkat Jong, 36000, Teluk Intan, Perak, Malaysia

    Zhi Yen Wong

  4. College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, 11451, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

    Hisham Aljadhey

  5. Faculty of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, University of Baluchistan, Quetta, Pakistan

    Fahad Saleem

Authors
  1. Alian A. Alrasheedy
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  2. Mohamed Azmi Hassali
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  3. Zhi Yen Wong
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  4. Hisham Aljadhey
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  5. Saleh Karamah AL-Tamimi
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  6. Fahad Saleem
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alian A. Alrasheedy .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmacy, School of Applied Sciences, University of Huddersfield, Huddersfield, New Zealand

    Zaheer-Ud-Din Babar

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Alrasheedy, A.A., Hassali, M.A., Wong, Z.Y., Aljadhey, H., AL-Tamimi, S.K., Saleem, F. (2017). Pharmaceutical Policy in Saudi Arabia. In: Babar, ZUD. (eds) Pharmaceutical Policy in Countries with Developing Healthcare Systems. Adis, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-51673-8_16

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-51673-8_16

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