No decision to stop doctors from dispensing medicine

No decision to stop doctors from dispensing medicine
By : Rina De Silva and Dharshini Balan

NST, 30th March 2008

KUALA LUMPUR: The Health Ministry has not decided to disallow doctors from dispensing medicines.

Health Minister Datuk Liow Tiong Lai said yesterday he would like to meet the Malaysian Medical Council, doctors and pharmacists to discuss the matter.Liow said he was aware of the Malaysian Pharmaceutical Society's proposal for pharmacists to dispense medication to patients. "At the moment, we are still looking at the proposal. We have not made any decision yet," he said after his first official visit to the Kuala Lumpur Hospital yesterday.
Liow was commenting on a New Straits Times report yesterday headlined "Doctors to be disallowed from dispensing medicines" that quoted health director-general Tan Sri Dr Ismail Merican as saying that the move was in the pipeline.He had also said that a pilot project on the proposal would be launched soon.He said the move could not be implemented earlier because of logistics problems, especially the shortage of pharmacies and pharmacists. Liow said the most important thing was for the people to have a good healthcare system. "That is the responsibility of the government. We do not want to burden the rakyat with extra costs," he said.The Malaysian Medical Association is against the proposed move to disallow doctors from dispensing medicines.President Datuk Dr Khoo Kah Lin said the public should decide if they wanted to get medication from either pharmacists or doctors.He said a doctor's primary role was to diagnose and treat which included giving appropriate medication to patients."Therefore, doctors cannot give up their right to dispense medicine," he said.Dr Khoo said doctors were already separating the consultation fee from the cost of medication, to avoid being accused of profit-making in dispensing medicines.The MMA's recommended fee for consultation is RM30 for minor ailments. However, doctors generally provide consultation and medication for less than RM30.Dr Khoo said pharmacists should not be allowed to prescribe medications without a doctor's prescription.In another development, a senior medical consultant, who declined to be identified, said some pharmacists were already dispensing medicines and treating patients, especially after checking their glucose level and blood pressure."This is already affecting our business," he saidHe said pharmacists should refer patients to doctors for diagnosis and treatment."Their work is only to dispense medicines prescribed by doctors. Pharmacists cannot become doctors. They cannot prescribe medicines based on basic tests," he said.A doctor in Klang, who only identified himself as Dr Rahim, asked if pharmacies would be open around the clock to cover prescriptions issued by doctors at 24-hour clinics. "So who is going to dispense medicines in this context, the doctor or the pharmacies?" he asked.The Malaysian Dietary Supplement Association, however, said the proposed move to disallow doctors from dispensing medicines was long overdue.Its president, Jagdev Singh, said pharmacists were best suited to dispense medicines because they were more knowledgeable about "drug to drug interaction, drug to health interaction and adverse reactions".

No decision on docs dispensing medicine

No decision on docs dispensing medicine
By TEH ENG HOCK

Star, 29th March 2008

KUALA LUMPUR: The Health Ministry has denied a report which said doctors would be prevented from dispensing medicine.
Health Minister Datuk Liow Tiong Lai said the article, which was published on the front page of a local English daily on Saturday, was not true.
"We have not made any decision at all. We are conducting a study, but it is only at a preliminary stage," he said.
The report said a pilot project on the separation of functions between doctors' clinics and pharmacies would be launched by the Health Ministry.
It also said that the pilot project would be launched at selected major towns, with the ministry closely monitoring the strengths and weaknesses of the system before implementing it nationwide.
Liow said while the Ministry was considering the request by pharmacists, the study had yet to be completed and a pilot project might not even be launched if the findings were not encouraging.
"If we find that people will be affected (negatively), we might not even carry out the pilot project," he said.
He added that he wanted to meet up with doctors and pharmacists to understand more about the issue.
"But most importantly, at the end of the day, the people must enjoy good medical services," he said.
Liow was speaking to reporters after visiting the Kuala Lumpur General Hospital on Saturday.

Move will not necessarily cost patients more

Move will not necessarily cost patients more

By : Regina Lee

NST, 28th March 2008

KUALA LUMPUR: Contrary to public perception, separating the doctor's function as a healer and as a provider of medicine will not necessarily cost patients more.

Malaysian Pharmaceutical Society president John Chang Chiew Pheng said this was because consumers would have the choice of drugs.

"Many doctors usually dispense the more branded and expensive medicines simply because they get incentives and bonuses from the drug companies.

"When the consumers get their medication and make up their minds whether to get branded or generic drugs, they end up saving money.

"The Poisons Act 1952 allows for doctors to dispense drugs because there were hardly any pharmacists when the law was passed," he said.
There are now roughly 5,000 pharmacists and 13 pharmacy schools in the country that produce an average of 600 graduates every year.

Chang also said that with serious risks to health due to improper medication, it made better sense for patients to get their drugs from a pharmacist who would have spent four years acquiring the knowledge than from a doctor who had none.

"Doctors are only familiar with medicines that they often prescribe, not knowing adverse reactions and drug interactions. However, pharmacists are constantly in touch with the drugs industry," he said.

With the separation of functions between clinics and pharmacies, Malaysia will join the ranks of other developed countries around the world which separate the role of doctors and pharmacists.

In the last 30 years, Asian countries like Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines and Indonesia have implemented the separation with varying degrees of success.

When South Korean health officials enforced the separation in 2000, tens of thousands of doctors took to the streets and forced clinics around the country to close for three days.

The various countries also experienced teething problems such as administrational confusion when charging corporate patients seeking treatment in panel clinics or claiming health insurance.

Separation laws in several countries also had loopholes, abused by pharmacists who were in cahoots with doctors for patient referrals in exchange for kickbacks.

All this, Chang admitted, could very well also happen in Malaysia if the separation was not closely enforced and scrutinised.

Move will not necessarily cost patients more

Move will not necessarily cost patients more
By : Regina Lee

NST, 28th March 2008

KUALA LUMPUR: Contrary to public perception, separating the doctor's function as a healer and as a provider of medicine will not necessarily cost patients more.

Malaysian Pharmaceutical Society president John Chang Chiew Pheng said this was because consumers would have the choice of drugs."Many doctors usually dispense the more branded and expensive medicines simply because they get incentives and bonuses from the drug companies."

When the consumers get their medication and make up their minds whether to get branded or generic drugs, they end up saving money."The Poisons Act 1952 allows for doctors to dispense drugs because there were hardly any pharmacists when the law was passed," he said.

There are now roughly 5,000 pharmacists and 13 pharmacy schools in the country that produce an average of 600 graduates every year. Chang also said that with serious risks to health due to improper medication, it made better sense for patients to get their drugs from a pharmacist who would have spent four years acquiring the knowledge than from a doctor who had none.

"Doctors are only familiar with medicines that they often prescribe, not knowing adverse reactions and drug interactions. However, pharmacists are constantly in touch with the drugs industry," he said. With the separation of functions between clinics and pharmacies, Malaysia will join the ranks of other developed countries around the world which separate the role of doctors and pharmacists.

In the last 30 years, Asian countries like Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines and Indonesia have implemented the separation with varying degrees of success.When South Korean health officials enforced the separation in 2000, tens of thousands of doctors took to the streets and forced clinics around the country to close for three days.

The various countries also experienced teething problems such as administrational confusion when charging corporate patients seeking treatment in panel clinics or claiming health insurance.

Separation laws in several countries also had loopholes, abused by pharmacists who were in cahoots with doctors for patient referrals in exchange for kickbacks.

All this, Chang admitted, could very well also happen in Malaysia if the separation was not closely enforced and scrutinised.

Doctors to be disallowed from dispensing medicines

Doctors to be disallowed from dispensing medicines
By : Annie Freeda Cruez

NST, 28th March 2008

KUALA LUMPUR: Soon, doctors will not be allowed to dispense medicines. Doctors will only be allowed to prescribe medications but patients will have to get the medicines from pharmacies.

Currently, doctors diagnose the disease, prescribe the medicines and their own clinics dispense them. For almost 20 years, pharmacists have been fighting for the "return" of their right to dispense medications but had been unsuccessful for various reasons.

A pilot project on the separation of functions between doctors' clinics and pharmacies will be launched by the Ministry of Health. It is scheduled to be launched at selected major towns with the ministry closely monitoring the strength and weaknesses of the system before implementing it nationwide.

Director-General of Health Tan Sri Dr Ismail Merican said the ministry was not able to implement this system earlier due to logistics problems, especially the shortage of pharmacists and pharmacies in the country.

"We also have to take into consideration the welfare of patients. If we have the separation, then patients must have easy accessibility to pharmacies to get their prescribed medications," he told the New Straits Times.

He said the ministry had conducted a detailed study, "Pharmacy and clinic Mapping" on various issues ranging from welfare of patients, facilities available and capability of pharmacies to meet the demand."

We found that the logistics problem is still an issue and needs to be resolved as we do not want patients to be running around looking for pharmacies with the doctors' prescriptions," said Dr Ismail.

Furthermore, he said, the pharmacies should be able to provide quality care. He said the ministry had been doing the study with various stakeholders, focusing on the spread of community pharmacies or pharmacy outlets in major towns, rural and remote areas.

Some 5,000 registered pharmacists are actively practising in some 1,600 pharmacies nationwide. In 2004, there were only 3,927 registered pharmacists with about 1,540 retail pharmacies or one for every 16,445 persons.

Dr Ismail said the pilot project would be implemented in major towns based on the study where there were pharmacies near clinics.

"If the pilot project is successful, we will have to look into the existing laws to allow for the separation," he added.India, South Korea and Taiwan have implemented the separation.

Malaysian Pharmaceutical Society president John Chang Chiew Pheng said the ministry's move to conduct a pilot project was definitely a positive development which would enhance the level of healthcare delivery. The separation, he added, would benefit patients as doctors could now focus on their clinical, diagnosing, counselling and prescription, while pharmacists could focus on educating patients on how best to optimise the usage of medicines prescribed.

Furthermore, Chang said, pharmacists could help patients choose between generic and branded drugs based on their financial situation.

"With commitment and determination we can overcome teething problems and patients can understand their medicines," he added.He said if the government went ahead with the separation, then more pharmacies could be set up near clinics for easy accessibility to patients.

Suicidal

Moment of tense looking at the photo. Just wonder what major issue prompted her to take such stupid action. Different versions reported. Some said she had an argument with a colleague, other said she had a quarrel with boyfriend.