PEM Dataset

We used three data sources: 1) the eighth version of the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines (LEM) for children (WHO-LEMc); 2) the Peruvian Observatory of Pharmaceutical Products (POPP) in Lima from the “Dirección General de Medicamentos, Insumos y Drogas” (DIGEMID), the Peruvian medicines regulatory agency; and 3) the 2018 National LEM from the Peruvian Ministry of Health (MINSA).

The POPP /DIGEMID is an open-access platform that provides information on the sale prices of medicines with valid health registrations, sold in both public and private pharmacies across Peru. DIGEMID administers this tool as established by Ministerial Resolution No. 341/2011 of the Ministry of Health. Data extraction from the POPP covered the period from July to August 2021 for medicines dispensed within Metropolitan Lima. For the purpose of this research, we excluded medicines that are not typically purchased directly by patients (e.g., vaccines, diagnostic tests, antiseptic solutions for hospital use, etc.)