Essentiality and economy: a feasibility approach to evaluating suggested revisions to the World Health Organization Model List of Essential Medicines for skin disease

Abstract

We read with great interest the research letter by Rundle and colleagues,¹ and we applaud them for noting the paucities in the World Health Organization’s (WHO) essential medicine (EM) list for skin disease. While their evidence-based approach to evaluating the WHO EM list is commendable, we would like to note that in the design of such a list, the cost, side effect profiles, and necessary monitoring for suggested medicines should also be considered. To that end, we comment here on the feasibility of administering the additional medicines suggested by Rundle and colleagues in resource-limited settings.