FYI Ritalin [for ADHD rejected from the WHO Essential Medicines List]

Focus · #1 11.11.2020, 11:55

I am posting for your information

https://ebm.bmj.com/content/early/20...i7r0PStGVcNFPo

Traubert · #2 11.11.2020, 14:39

To be more specific Ritalin is a brand name for what is Methylphenidate. This includes other brands like Concerta.

I am interested to know what the repercussions would be of Methlyphenidate being removed from the list of essential medicines. This doesn't have any bearing on whether or not it continues to be manufactured, prescribed and used, does it?

newtoswitz · #3 11.11.2020, 14:53

It doesn't sound like it was removed, it just failed to get added.

And it also sounds like it may be more a process thing, i.e. the choice of evidence was poor so the applicants messed up, rather than a permanent rejection.

But I'm not going to pay £25 to confirm - maybe someone with a BMJ subscription can comment?

aSwissInTheUS · #4 11.11.2020, 14:54

	Quote:	Traubert
	being removed from the list of essential medicines.?

It is not removed. It is not being added. In this regard nothing changes.

And that is old news. The decision was published January 31 2020 in The Selection and Use of Essential Medicines - TRS - 1021 https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241210300
or even further back as the BMJ article is from 2019.

What "Essential medicines" are and the history of the list:
https://www.who.int/medicines/servic...icines_def/en/
https://www.who.int/medicines/events/fs/en/

	Quote:
	Definition Essential medicines are those that satisfy the priority health care needs of the population. Criteria for selection of essential medicines Essential medicines are selected with due regard to disease prevalence and public health relevance, evidence of clinical efficacy and safety, and comparative costs and cost-effectiveness. Essential Medicines Lists Essential medicines are intended to be available within the context of functioning health systems at all times in adequate amounts, in the appropriate dosage forms, with assured quality, and at a price the individual and the community can afford. The Model List is a guide for the development of national and institutional essential medicine lists. It was not designed as a global standard. However, for the past 30 years the Model List has led to a global acceptance of the concept of essential medicines as a powerful means to promote health equity. Most countries have national lists and some have provincial or state lists as well. National lists of essential medicines usually relate closely to national guidelines for clinical health care practice which are used for the training and supervision of health workers.

NotAllThere · #5 11.11.2020, 14:55

	Quote:	Traubert
	I am interested to know what the repercussions would be of Methlyphenidate being removed from the list of essential medicines. This doesn't have any bearing on whether or not it continues to be manufactured, prescribed and used, does it?

I can't think of any. As far as I know the list exists to help countries formulate their own health policies, and to provide guidance on the minimal "medicine cabinet" a functional country should have.