Falsified Medicines: Literature review

In order to understand the global phenomenon of falsified medicines, this literature review is conducted as a pilot study to identify knowledge gaps and deliver insights for further research. The emergence and prevalence of falsified medicines takeon different forms between developing and developed nations due to political, economic, social and culturalfactors, yet studies from social, historical,cultural and ethical perspectives are rare. Empirical studies on consumers’ healthcare seeking behaviours and coping strategiessuch as the purchase of medicines from unknown, informal or extralegal sources, as well as on if/how healthcare professionals follow up patients who experienceunusual lack of medical efficacy,are lacking. Inter-disciplinary research is urgently needed.