What are the effect of substandard and counterfeit medicine?
Key Findings and Conclusions Falsified and substandard drugs may contain toxic doses of dangerous ingredients and cause mass poisoning. Poor-quality medicines compromise the treatment of chronic and infectious diseases, causing disease progression, drug resistance, and death.
What are the causes of drug adulteration?
Some of the factors identified to promote fake drugs include but may not be limited to:
- Availability of sophisticated technology.
- High cost of quality drug products.
- Unorganized drug distribution network involving so many intermediaries.
- Corruption, greed and conflict of interest.
What is substandard drug?
Substandard medicines are pharmaceutical products that do not meet their quality standards and specifications. ‘ The WHO defines ‘counterfeit’ drugs as ‘medicines that are deliberately and fraudulently mislabelled with respect to identity and/or source’ [8].
Can pharmacists prescribe in North Carolina?
North Carolina A Clinical Pharmacist Practitioner (CPP) is a licensed pharmacist who has prescribing authority, including the ability to prescribe controlled substances under the supervision of a licensed physician.
What are the main impacts of falsified medicine on public health?
Falsified medicines may lead to avoidable morbidity, mortality, drug resistance, early death or treatment failure, as well as loss of faith in health systems, especially in low-income and middle-income countries, and therefore a reliable supply of good-quality medicines is essential for public health 1-4.
What are the risks of the counterfeit drugs and implications for strategic decisions?
Counterfeited medications can promote drug resistance and lead to treatment failures as well as contribute to morbidity and mortality [12]. They can also lead to loss of public confidence not only in medicine, but also in public health.
What is drug adulteration and its types?
Adulteration involves different conditions such as deterioration, admixture, sophistication, substitution, inferiority and spoilage. Deterioration is impairment in the quality of drug, whereas admixture is addition of one article to another due to ignorance or carelessness or by accident.
What is meant by drug quality?
Drug product quality relates to the biopharmaceutic and physicochemical properties of the drug substance and the drug product to the in vivo performance of the drug. The performance of each drug product must be consistent and predictable to assure both clinical efficacy and safety.
What are the three safety features of the EU Falsified Medicines Directive?
These safety features are:
- a unique identifier (a 2D data matrix code and human readable information) which will be placed on medical products that can be scanned at fixed points along the supply chain.
- tamper evident features (anti-tampering devices) on the pack.
How do falsified medicines differ from counterfeit medicines?
The term ‘falsified’ refers to all forms of falsification, while the term ‘counterfeit’ specifically refers to an infringement of intellectual property rights. Falsified medicines may contain ingredients, including active ingredients, which are of poor quality or in the wrong dose – either too high or too low.
What safety and health concerns are posed by counterfeit products?
Overview
- Counterfeit airbags and their components can cause severe malfunctions ranging from non-deployment, under inflation, over inflation to explosion of metal shrapnel during deployment in a crash.
- Counterfeit lithium-ion laptop batteries pose significant risk of extreme heat, self-igniting, and exploding.
How can you identify and prevent counterfeit drugs?
To avoid purchasing counterfeit medications, follow these tips.
- Use caution when shopping online for medicines. Approved online pharmacies should display the “VIPPS” seal, shown here.
- Avoid purchasing drugs outside the U.S. border.
- Pay attention to pill appearance and packaging.
- Report suspicious medications.
What are the methods of drug adulteration?
There are three types of adulterations: the addition of undeclared drugs/chemical substances, substitution with non-drug components, and the addition of foreign non-drug materials.
What are the factors determine drug quality?
Stability of drugs depends on both environmental factors such as temperature, air, light and humidity, and drug-related factors such as the active ingredient itself, the dosage form (tablet, solution, etc.) and the manufacturing process.