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Health Evidence Network Synthesis Report, No. 73
Katrina Perehudoff, Kaitlin Mara, and Ellen 't Hoen.
In 2019 the Seventy-second World Health Assembly endorsed resolution WHA72.8 to improve the transparency of markets for health products. This scoping review aims to support policy-makers in the WHO European Region who seek to develop policies related to market transparency by summarizing the current evidence on the legal implementation of measures to improve the transparency of markets for medicines, vaccines and other health products. The review identified existing mechanisms to improve the transparency of pharmaceutical markets in two main areas: (i) the price transparency of medicines, vaccines and health products and (ii) the transparency of research and development costs. It also identified two disclosure practices in individual countries that could be applied by groups of Member States: pooled procurement (by a national agency or group of payers/providers in one country) and the clearing-house method (of collecting and sharing anonymized, aggregated procurement prices for medical products). In addition, evaluations of price transparency mechanisms in upper-middle- and high-income countries in other regions provide examples of lessons learned for consideration by governments in the WHO European Region. The decision to promote greater transparency in the pharmaceutical market rests with national governments in the Region. In France and Italy, legal reforms to implement their commitments to price transparency in the pharmaceutical market are consistent with European Union law. These examples may be useful for other Member States planning to adopt laws on the provision of greater transparency.
Perehudoff K, Mara K, 't Hoen E. What is the evidence on legal measures to improve the transparency of markets for medicines, vaccines and other health products (World Health Assembly resolution WHA72.8)? Copenhagen: WHO Regional Office for Europe; 2021 (Health Evidence Network (HEN) synthesis report 73).
The Health Evidence Network
The Health Evidence Network (HEN) is an information service for public health decision-makers in the WHO European Region, in action since 2003 and initiated and coordinated by the WHO Regional Office for Europe under the umbrella of the WHO European Health Information Initiative (a multipartner network coordinating all health information activities in the WHO European Region).
HEN supports public health decision-makers to use the best available evidence in their own decision-making and aims to ensure links between evidence, health policies and improvements in public health. The HEN synthesis report series provides summaries of what is known about the policy issue, the gaps in the evidence and the areas of debate. Based on the synthesized evidence, HEN proposes policy considerations, not recommendations, for policy-makers to formulate their own recommendations and policies within their national context.
Access to Medicines and Health Products
The Access to Medicines and Health Products unit of the Division of Country Health Policies and Systems provides strategic direction, technical assistance and tailored support to countries to improve access for health systems to quality medicines and health products in a reliable, affordable and sustainable manner across the WHO European Region. The unit develops country capacity to tackle vulnerabilities in regulatory, production, procurement and supply chains, with a focus on substandard and falsified medicines and health products. It works cross-programmatically to improve financial protection by addressing out-of-pocket payments and high pricing for medicines, as well as governance of the whole medicines management system.
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ISSN 2227-4316
ISBN 978-92-890-5578-9
© World Health Organization 2021
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Suggested citation. Perehudoff K, Mara K, 't Hoen E. What is the evidence on legal measures to improve the transparency of markets for medicines, vaccines and other health products (World Health Assembly resolution WHA72.8)? Copenhagen: WHO Regional Office for Europe; 2021 (Health Evidence Network (HEN) synthesis report 73).
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