Pharmaceutical regulation, policy and access to medicines in the European Union

Abstract

European health systems have traditionally aimed at the provision of high-quality care and equity of access. This has become increasingly challenging over the past decades, with unabated pressure to deliver more and better services with insufficient resources . In the pharmaceutical arena, there is growing concern and interest in the area of access to medicines in the European Union. Whilst member states are bound by a legislative infrastructure which addresses quality, safety and efficacy of medicinal products on the market, patients in these territories experience disparate levels of access to medicines . Paradigms for improvements in this field most often focus on the individual barrier and do not relate to the wider perspective.