Title: APHA IH PHARMACEUTICAL WORK GROUP PRESENTATIONS
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Section/SPIG: International Health
Issue Date:
The four-paper panel, "Innovative Organizational Responses to Issues in the Pharmaceutical Sector," which was proposed as an initiative of the APHA IH section Pharmaceuticals Working Group, was accepted. The complete panel includes abstracts 113125, 113096, 113115, and 113122, and it is currently scheduled for Monday, Dec. 12 from 8:30-10:00 a.m. (Session # 3035).
Brief description of Panel: At the global level, the issues surrounding the pharmaceutical sector spotlight real and potential conflicts between free market enterprise and public health policy. The pharmaceutical industry is a powerful engine in global economic development, and shocks to that industry can send the stock market index down. Industry development strategies are naturally designed to maximize profits in lucrative (and relatively healthy) markets with minimal attention to maximizing health status around the world, and these strategies have attracted increasing sharp criticism from elements of civil society, which see health as a human right and public good. This panel will include presentations on four recently established and innovative organizations who are responding to these basic conflicts in the pharmaceutical sector in different ways.
In addition, the poster, “Cross-border Internet Pharmacies: Issues Implications and Controversy,” prepared by Pharmaceuticals Working Group member Ilyssa Hollander will be presented during the poster session, “Using Communication Tools to Promote Healthier Lives,” and the paper, "Improving the Use of Pharmaceuticals in Jordan: The Importance of Pharmaceutical care and a Rational Drug Strategy," prepared by the Pharmaceuticals Working Group member Dima Qato, will be part of the panel on “Improving Use and Distribution of Pharmaceuticals.” This second panel will have other papers of interest to members of the group.
--Maggie Huff-Rousselle, MA, MBA, PhD, E-mail: mhuffrousselle@ssds.net