The government of Pakistan is tapping into mobile technology to protect its pharmaceutical supply chain and prevent abuse. As part of an ongoing effort to deal with an overabundance of fake and counterfeit medicines, Pakistan has introduced a mobile app that allows for instant access to the country’s National Essential Medicines List (NEML) while giving patients access to drug information and the ability to lodge complaints with regulators.
The mobile app contains a searchable list of products included in the NEML developed by the National Department of Health of Pakistan. Patients can scan barcodes on medicine packages to ensure they are both real and approved. A spokesman for the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) said the NEML mobile app has been standardized in line with the World Health Organization's (WHO) Model List of Essential Medicines.
The application can help monitor drug prices and identify counterfeit or fake medicines. The NEML application gives users the option to lodge complaints against particular drugs or pharmaceutical companies. Authorities are expected to address these complaints within 48 hours.
Essential medicines on the list also can be filtered based on their availability, service levels, links to other medicines and links to specific health programs like malaria or tuberculosis control programs.