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Beyond the Pill: Mapping Process-Oriented Decision Support Models in Pharmaceutical Policy
Foteini Theiakou1, Catherine Kastanioti1, Dimitris Zavras2
1Department of Business Administration and Organizations, University of Peloponnese, 24100 Kalamata, Greece.
Decision support models (DSMs) can improve pharmaceutical policy by enhancing transparency and consistency. Their adoption is limited, especially in low- and middle-income countries, requiring further standardization and exploration.
Area of Science:
- Health Policy
- Pharmaceutical Sciences
- Decision Analysis
Background:
- Decision-making quality is vital for public trust and policy sustainability in healthcare.
- Pharmaceutical policy decisions (pricing, reimbursement, access) require robust procedural quality.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify and describe process-focused decision support models (DSMs) in pharmaceutical policy.
- To assess the potential of DSMs in improving procedural quality of medicine access decisions.
Main Methods:
- Narrative review of peer-reviewed and gray literature (2000-2025).
- Searches in PubMed, Scopus, and reports from WHO, ISPOR, and HTA agencies.
- Inclusion of studies detailing DSMs that address decision process quality.
Main Results:
- Key DSMs identified include Quality of Decision-Making Orientation Scheme (QoDoS), WHO-INTEGRATE, and AGREE II.
- QoDoS is versatile, applied across regulatory, HTA, and industry settings.
- Most DSMs enhance transparency, consistency, and stakeholder engagement, but adoption is limited, particularly in LMICs.
Conclusions:
- Process-focused DSMs offer significant potential for improving pharmaceutical policy transparency, consistency, and legitimacy.
- Standardizing evaluation methods and promoting wider adoption in diverse health systems are crucial next steps.
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