Pharmacoepidemiology of Rational Use of Modern and Herbal Medicines

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About this Research Topic

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Background

Most current prescriptions are targeted towards lifestyle changes and other emerging chronic symptoms are simply treated isolation as they emerge. Patient well-being is of little concern. Herbal medicine (HM) takes a holistic treatment approach is considered safe and effective because of past enduring use, are more affordable than modern medicines. Accordingly, HM usage has escalated, and many people believe that HMs should become more integrated into all levels of formal health care services.

Rational use of medicines requires patients to receive medication that meets their clinical needs, and doses to meet individual requirements for an adequate period, all at least cost and to the community (WHO, Nairobi 1985). In the light of integration of modern and herbal medicines, advances in pharmacotherapy, or complex patients’ health behaviour, evidence-based rational use of medicines is essential.

For both modern and herbal medicines, none are entirely effective or free of side effects. Medicines themselves may be inherently harmful, but additional harm may arise due to healthcare professionals (e.g. inappropriate prescribing), the healthcare system (e.g. lacking safety culture), or patients themselves (e.g. medication non-adherence). Challenges from advances in pharmacotherapy and HM integration into formal healthcare systems need addressing to achieve patient safety, thus satisfying rational medication use. This should be placed in the highest position. Well-designed epidemiological studies in various aspects from the development to the use of medicines are required for tackling issues involving patient safety and ultimately patient well-being.


We invite any manuscript describing intervention or observational human studies that gather information about potential or real world data where outcomes include effectiveness and/or influences on consumer well-being after treatment with modern or herbal medicines. Manuscript are encouraged but not limited to include:

• Discussion of the difficulty to measure harmonized and standardized herbal product exposure and timing of exposure in relation to study outcomes
• Studies on modern or herbal/traditional medicines, or both
• Pharmacoepidemiological studies that capture evidence of rational drug use
• Pharmacoeconomic studies particularly where patients have prolonged independent productive lives
• Post-marketing observational studies inclusive of modern medicines and herbal products
• Focus on treatment outcomes in cultural diverse groups
• Focus on less studied groups such as children, the elderly, pregnant women, and other minorities that might be identified in large population-based clinical databases.
• Studies on holistic pharmacological management of metabolic syndrome and related life-style disease, chronic pain, degenerative diseases, and any other condition where patient well-being is an important outcome.


The pharmacoepidemiology subsection welcomes submissions of the following article types: Brief Research Report, Clinical Trial, Correction, Data Report, Editorial, Erratum, General Commentary, Hypothesis and Theory, Methods, Mini Review, Opinion, Original Research, Perspective, Policy and Practice Reviews, Policy Brief, Protocols, Review, Specialty Grand Challenge, Study Protocol, Systematic Review and Technology and Code.

Keywords: Pharmacoepidemiology, rational use of medicines, holistic pharmacology, chronic disease, medication-related problems, herbal medicine, traditional medicine patient heterogeneity, real world data, observational study, metabolic disease, interventional clinical trials

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