| Title: |
Essential medicine selection during the COVID-19 pandemic: Enabling access in uncharted territory |
| Authors: |
Leong, T D; McGee, S M; Gray, A L; de Waal, R; Kredo, T; Cohen, K; Reubenson, G; Blockman, M; Nel, J; Maartens, G; Rees, H; Wiseman, R; Jamaloodien, K; Parrish, A G |
| Source: |
South African Medical Journal; Vol 110, No 11 (2020); 1077-1080 ; 2078-5135 ; 0256-9574 |
| Publisher Information: |
South African Medical Association |
| Publication Year: |
2020 |
| Collection: |
South African Medical Journal (SAMJ) |
| Subject Terms: |
Decision framework; Remdesivir; Dexamethasone; Evidence review; Essential medicines; SARS-CoV-2 |
| Description: |
The COVID-19 pandemic requires urgent decisions regarding treatment policy in the face of rapidly evolving evidence. In response, the South African Essential Medicines List Committee established a subcommittee to systematically review and appraise emerging evidence, within very short timelines, in order to inform the National Department of Health COVID-19 treatment guidelines. To date, the subcommittee has reviewed 14 potential treatments, and made recommendations based on local context, feasibility, resource requirements and equity. Here we describe the rapid review and evidence-to-decision process, using remdesivir and dexamethasone as examples. Our experience is that conducting rapid reviews is a practical and efficient way to address medicine policy questions under pandemic conditions. |
| Document Type: |
article in journal/newspaper |
| File Description: |
application/pdf |
| Language: |
English |
| Relation: |
http://samj.org.za/index.php/samj/article/view/13086/9571; http://samj.org.za/index.php/samj/article/view/13086 |
| DOI: |
10.7196/SAMJ.2020.v110i11.15271 |
| Availability: |
http://samj.org.za/index.php/samj/article/view/13086; https://doi.org/10.7196/SAMJ.2020.v110i11.15271 |
| Rights: |
Copyright of published material remains in the Authors’ name. This allows authors to use their work for their own non-commercial purposes without seeking permission from the Publisher, subject to properly acknowledging the Journal as the original place of publication. Authors are free to copy, print and distribute their articles, in full or in part, for teaching activities, and to deposit or include their work in their own personal or institutional database or on-line website. Authors are requested to inform the Journal/Publishers of their desire/intention to include their work in a thesis or dissertation or to republish their work in any derivative form (but not for commercial use).  Material submitted for publication in the SAMJ is accepted provided it has not been published or submitted for publication elsewhere. Please inform the editorial team if the main findings of your paper have been presented at a conference and published in abstract form, to avoid copyright infringement. |
| Accession Number: |
edsbas.B92F2E08 |
| Database: |
BASE |