Box 1 Discussion guide for interviews with pharmaceutical officials

 1. Whom are the different members involved in the budget process and how are they selected?

 2. Please define your role and responsibilities as a member in the budget process

 3. How is the healthcare budget, for the population, calculated for the burden of disease? Please explain the process in detail

 4. How is the healthcare budget translated into pharmaceutical expenditure for provision on the STGs/EMLs as well as for non-STGs/EMLs items? Please explain the process in detail

 5. How is a budget impact analysis of the cost implications of having STGs/EMLs in SA calculated? Explain in detail

 6. What other health economic and/or pharmacoeconomic analyses are done, e.g. cost-effectiveness analysis for the healthcare budget?

 7. What other health economic and/or pharmacoeconomic analyses are done to estimate the impacts of EML decisions?

 8. What other guidelines/considerations are taken into account during these processes?

 9. Anything you would like to add/say/comment on?