Economic Evaluation of Dispensing Separation Policy in Malaysia by Asrul Akmal Shafie, Khor Xin Yun, Mohamed Azmi Ahmad Hassali

The separation of dispensing from doctor or what is simply called dispensing separation is a holty debated health policy proposition in Malaysia but rarely discussed. Each time the issue resurfaced, emotional opposition took place and extinguish the discussion of an important policy change that is long overdue in Malaysia. Consequently, both policy markers and the public are deprived of rational arguments for the policy. This book reported an economic evaluation study that has evaluated the benefit of dispensing separation policy from a Malaysian societal perspective using a cost-benefit analysis (CBA) framework. In the absence of empirical data or controlled trial on the policy, the study has also applied a decision modeling approach that make use of empirical data from published studies. This is the first time suach an approach was used in addressing this issue and we feel that this would have appeal not only to Malaysian policy, but also to other countries that are also contemplating such change.