title: A scoring system for selection of essential drugs.
abstract: A scoring system is presented for selection of essential drugs, using criteria of efficacy, safety, cost of a course of therapy, compliance, multiple usage and storage, ease of administration and local availability. Such a system allows for different weighting of factors whose relative importance varies from country to country and would help in choosing the most appropriate and cost-effective drugs for use in developing countries. The importance of such factors as cost and compliance has been illustrated with suitable examples. This approach could also be used for individual patient decisions with the aid of a computer program.
authors.affiliation: Division of Human Function, College of Medicine and Medical Sciences, Arabian Gulf University, Bahrain.
authors.forename: V S
authors.initials: VS
authors.lastname: Mathur
authors.forename: R R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Chaudhury
authors.forename: H S
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Fraser
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D004358:Drug Therapy; D064420:Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions; D006801:Humans; D008954:Models, Biological; D013290:Streptococcal Infections / Q000188:drug therapy
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal