Barriers and facilitators to adherence to national drug policies on antibiotic prescribing and dispensing in Bangladesh

This paper reports on policy awareness among drug shop operators and their customers and identifies current dispensing practices, barriers and facilitators to policy adherence. The authors conducted a qualitative study in rural and urban Bangladesh from June 2019 to August 2020. In conclusion, the authors highlighted that awareness of the National Drug Policy and the BPMI was limited among urban and rural drug shop operators. Poor antibiotic prescribing practice is additionally hampered by a shortage of qualified physicians; cultural and economic barriers to accessing qualified physicians, and poor implementation of regulations. Also mentioned that increasing qualified physician access and increasing training and certification of drug shop operators could improve the alignment of practices with national policy.

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Nizame, F. A, Dewan M. S, Emily K. R, Salma A, Mohammad A. I, Afsana A. K, Mahbubur R, and Leanne U. Barriers and facilitators to adherence to national drug policies on antibiotic prescribing and dispensing in Bangladesh. J of Pharm Policy and Pract 14, 85 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40545-021-00342-7