Medicines: Identifying, Exposing and Tackling Unethical and Corrupt Practices is Essential for Safeguarding Patient and Public Health Interests Worldwide

A special issue of Medicines (ISSN 2305-6320).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2022) | Viewed by 16631

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Postgraduate Research Institute of Science, Technology, Environment and Medicine, CY-3021 Limassol, Cyprus
Interests: chelation therapy; chelation in medicine; chelating drugs; iron chelating drugs in thalassaemia and other diseases of iron overload or imbalance; chelator antioxidants in free radical pathology; chelators and antioxidants in cancer and neurodegenerative diseases; chelating drug design, development and clinical use
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Issues surrounding health care affect all people worldwide. High rates of morbidity and mortality are observed due to the lack of medicines, medical devises and because of low standards of health care services in many countries as a result of insufficient resources. COVID-19 and other communicable diseases highlight the interdependence of nations on health and the need for one world / one health policies, as well as access to water, food and medicines as a human right. High standard global health care can be achieved by the redistribution of wealth and resources, as well as tackling corruption, fraud and unethical practices, which are a cause of massive drainage on health resources worldwide.

The aim of the special issue is to use analytical tools and methods in order to address corrupt and unethical practices, highlight their implications in everyday life and at all levels in health care and academia, with the priority being the need for accessible health care, medicines and medical devices for all people. Most importantly colleagues from public health institutions, academic and research communities are invited to share their experience, identify and highlight associated problems and suggest the appropriate analytical tools, list the criteria and find solutions to unethical and corrupt practices in all sectors of public health including medicines and medical devices.

Prof. Dr. George J. Kontoghiorghes
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • Medicines
  • Global health care
  • Patient care-all specialties
  • Corruption in public health
  • Corruption in academia
  • Corruption in national health institutions
  • Corruption in international health institutions
  • Tackling corruption
  • Analytical tools and methods
  • Pharmaceutical industry
  • Plagiarism
  • Nepotism
  • Victimization
  • Patient rights
  • Orphan diseases
  • Orphan drugs
  • Patent issues
  • Drug marketing
  • Elite journals
  • Risk/benefit assessment

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Editorial

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5 pages, 257 KiB  
Editorial
Ethics in Medicines: Exposing Unethical Practices and Corruption in All Sectors of Medicines Is Essential for Improving Global Public Health and Saving Patients’ Lives
by George J. Kontoghiorghes
Medicines 2021, 8(9), 54; https://doi.org/10.3390/medicines8090054 - 14 Sep 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3596
Abstract
While great strides have been made in science and medicine ensuring better living standards and health care for most human beings, many issues still remain, which are responsible for an increase in mortality and morbidity rates of millions of people worldwide, despite that [...] Read more.
While great strides have been made in science and medicine ensuring better living standards and health care for most human beings, many issues still remain, which are responsible for an increase in mortality and morbidity rates of millions of people worldwide, despite that in most cases the causes are preventable [...] Full article

Research

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10 pages, 435 KiB  
Article
Investigating Prescription Medication Expenditures and Level of Perceived Health Status among Older Adults with Pain in the United States
by David R. Axon and Leonard P. Barrios
Medicines 2022, 9(3), 17; https://doi.org/10.3390/medicines9030017 - 22 Feb 2022
Viewed by 2370
Abstract
Background: the objective of this retrospective, cross sectional study was to assess the relationship between different levels of perceived health status and prescription medication expenditures among United States adults aged ≥50 years with self-reported pain. Methods: using 2019 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) [...] Read more.
Background: the objective of this retrospective, cross sectional study was to assess the relationship between different levels of perceived health status and prescription medication expenditures among United States adults aged ≥50 years with self-reported pain. Methods: using 2019 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) data, four levels of perceived health status were formed (excellent, very good, good, and fair/poor health). Differences between characteristics in the groups were compared using chi square tests. Adjusted linear regression models, using logged positive annual prescription medication expenditures, were constructed to assess differences in prescription medication expenditures between levels of perceived health. Results: a total of 4826 individuals were included in the study. Adjusted linear regression analysis indicated those who reported excellent health had 65.8% lower annual prescription medication expenditures than those with fair/poor health. Those with very good health had 49.7% lower annual prescription medication expenditures than those with fair/poor health, while those with good health had 27.2% lower annual prescription medication expenditures than those with fair/poor health. Conclusions: better perceived health status was generally associated with relatively lower prescription medication expenditures. Further research is needed to investigate if this pattern is also observed for other categories of healthcare expenditures and in other populations. Full article
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10 pages, 18776 KiB  
Article
The Medial Surface of the Auricle: Historical and Recent Maps. What Are the Possible Expectations of the “Thumb-Index Technique”
by Antonello Lovato, Francesco Ceccherelli, Giuseppe Gagliardi and Marco Postiglione
Medicines 2022, 9(2), 13; https://doi.org/10.3390/medicines9020013 - 17 Feb 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 6926
Abstract
Introduction: The medial surface of the auricle (MSotA), as compared to the lateral, has been less studied and has limited consensus among schools of auricular acupuncture (AA) due to its small size, greater difficulty in carrying out an adequate physical examination on it, [...] Read more.
Introduction: The medial surface of the auricle (MSotA), as compared to the lateral, has been less studied and has limited consensus among schools of auricular acupuncture (AA) due to its small size, greater difficulty in carrying out an adequate physical examination on it, and less precise and limited agreement on its anatomical references as compared to the lateral surface. The thumb-index technique TIT is performed using a guiding finger (taking advantage of the anatomical conformation of the lateral surface) to guide the explorer finger (placed on the MSotA) to project the therapeutic areas and land marks on the MSotA. TIT could be considered useful and effective in AA to make the most of diagnostic and therapeutic MSotA potential. Methods: An investigation was carried out on the impact of TIT in AA practice through a survey collected from former AA students. Results: TIT showed a high consensus, and is used and appreciated by AA practitioners. Discussion/ Conclusions: To date, in AA, there is no thoroughly shared nomenclature for MSotA. TIT is simple and quick to project on to MSotA the well-coded lateral surface auricular maps from French or Chinese AA schools. Full article
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12 pages, 600 KiB  
Article
Toxic Metal Concentrations in Drinking Water and Possible Effect on Sex Hormones among Men in Sabongida-Ora, Edo State, Nigeria
by Osaro Ogie Enehizena and Mathias A. Emokpae
Medicines 2022, 9(1), 4; https://doi.org/10.3390/medicines9010004 - 7 Jan 2022
Viewed by 2770
Abstract
Drinking water can be a potential source of toxic metals, which are a known leading cause of infertility in men. This study determines the concentrations of lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu) in drinking water (borehole, hand-dug well and treated water) [...] Read more.
Drinking water can be a potential source of toxic metals, which are a known leading cause of infertility in men. This study determines the concentrations of lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu) in drinking water (borehole, hand-dug well and treated water) and sex hormone levels (serum follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), prolactin (PROL), estradiol (E2), progesterone (PROG), and testosterone (T) in males who drink water mainly from these sources. The concentrations of Cd, and Pb in hand-dug wells were higher than the permissible limit recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) while Zn and Cu were within the permissible levels in drinking water. Blood Cd and Pb levels were significantly higher (p < 0.001) among subjects who consumed hand-dug and borehole water than treated water, while serum Zn was significantly lower (p < 0.001) in hand-dug well and borehole water consumers than in control subjects. Also, serum FSH (p < 0.001), LH (p < 0.001), E2 (p < 0.002), PROG (p < 0.04) and T (p < 0.001) were significantly lower among hand-dug well and borehole water consumers than controls, while PROL (p < 0.001) was significantly higher in hand-dug well and borehole water consumers than controls. Blood Cd and Pb levels were significantly higher (p < 0.001) in hand-dug well water consumers than borehole water consumers. The consumption of water from hand-dug wells may have adverse reproductive sequelae among consumers. Full article
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