Medicine secrecy

First, a solution should be found to the problem of the accessibility of data on the consumption and sale of medicines at the various levels of aggregation both the public data published by the Ministry of Health and Consumer Affairs and the private data by Intercontinental Medical Systems (IMS). We think it would be possible to reach an agreement that would safeguard the privacy of the individual, statistical secrecy and the commercial interests of the dmg... 

From beginning to end, Egypt has been called a theocratic state, ruled by a very powerful priesthood. The priesthood was divided into various castes, each with specific duties —such as scribes and astronomers. Of special interest to us are the priests, who worked with materials in ways we might describe today as chemistry. These priests, often working under an oath of secrecy regarding their art, developed skills in metallurgy, ceramics, medicine, mummification, and winemaking, to name just a few. 

Dermatologic self-care products fcill under the law for cosmetics. The substances allowed for use in dermatological products are included in lists that come out of the EC Directives, (e.g., UV-filters in creams and lotions). The applicant has to notify these products to the Ministry of Public Health. He has to prepare a technical file that can be described as a simplified pharmaco-clinical file for medicines. This file has to be available upon request to the authorities. The applicant also hcis to appoint a responsible person (pharmacist, biologist, chemist) who declares that the contents of the file are compliant with legislation cuid that the product is safe for use. The formulation of the product has to be communicated (under secrecy agreement) to the National Antipoison Centre. This procedure became fully operative on July 1, 1999. 

European Medicines Evaluation Agency and the New Licensing Arrangements, Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin, go see also Brown, No Place for Secrecy, 3-4. 

There is inadequate documentation about herbal medicine in the cormtry. The plant remedies have not been scientifically validated for safety and efficacy for them to be included in list of essential drugs for natiorral health systems (JJ). Herbal medical practice is also still shrouded in secrecy and perceptions of metaphysical powers. It is essential that research should explode the myths and superstitions associated with herbal remedies by establishing the real basis of the therapeutic properties of the medicirral plants used in herbal remedies (J 2). 

Nerve agents are extremely toxic chemicals that were first developed in secrecy before and during World War II primarily for military use. Related substances are used in medicine, in pharmacology, and for other purposes, such as insecticides, but they lack the potency of the military agents. Much of the basic knowledge about the clinical effects of nerve agents comes from research performed in the decades immediately following World War II. 

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