The authors of this book aim to provide readers with a comprehensive account of global pharmaceutical systems. The first three chapters are intended to familiarize the reader with social science methods and models. The succeeding chapters describe different parts of the drug system. Content: Preface. 1. Introduction. 1.1 Economic development. 1.2 Systems analysis. Contextual Factors Which Influence a National Pharmaceutical System. 1.3 The actors in the pharmaceutical systems. Health care professional groups. Drug producers. Drug control. Patients and their organizations. 1.4 Evaluations. Deciding about the aim of the evaluation. The identification of the system and its goals. The identification of the evaluation dimensions and the decision on how to measure these dimensions. 1.5 The collection of data. 1.6 The summary of the results and the formulation of conclusions. 1.7 Social constructionism and social representation theory. 1.8 The actor-spectator paradox. 1.9 The decision-making processes in the drug system. 1.10 How attitudes and beliefs change - the balance model.