Quote of the day: On educating consumers on Generics Law

"There must be continuing education on Generics Law. Our consumers have yet to fully appreciate the value for money offered by generic substitutes. Our doctors and public health institutions must not negate the spirit of this law by failing to live up to their duty to inform their patients, particularly the poor, about generic substitutes."


- Senator Mar Roxas, on his sponsorship speech on Senate Bill No. 2263 to make the laws on patents, trade names and trade marks more responsive to the health needs of the Filipino people delivered at the Senate session hall on August 16, 2006.

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pinoypharmacist's comment:


Former BFAD Director, Quintin L. Kintanar, M.D., Ph.D., in recognizing the role of pharmacists, said that "Under the Generics Act of 1988, the pharmacist is not only a dispenser of drugs. He is also a teacher; he has been given the responsibility of informing the consumer what are the available generically-equivalent drug products and their prices."

He also said that "To discharge this responsibility properly the pharmacist himself must be professionally competent and must also be well-informed on the provisions of the Generics Act and the current developments in the pharmaceutical field."

Further, A.O. No. 63 series of 1989 requires drugstores, botica and other drug outlets "To inform the patient/buyer of all available drug products generically equivalent to the one prescribed with their corresponding prices. In so doing, the drug outlet shall not favor or suggest any particular product so that the patient/buyer may fully and adequately exercise his option to choose." (Section 3)

So, you see how confident and ready the government was about the role of pharmacists when they drafted the implementing rules of the Generics Act. It seems, however that WE WERE THE ONES WHO ARE NOT READY.

But wait... Although Michael Tan (in his article, Generics again) observes that " drugstores don't always inform consumers about the possible choices", he admits that he "sees some hopeful signs around generics" based on his own experiences in buying medicines.

Reference:
http://news.inquirer.net/common/print.php?index=2&story-id=53269&site-id25&col=81

Labeling our patients' medications

In giving orientation to new interns, I always emphasize the importance of labeling "loose tablets and capsules" properly and in accordance with the requirements of A.O. 63 series of 1989 (Section 3, no. 3.2) not only for the sake of compliance but because it is the right thing to do to ensure the safety of medications for our patients.

My lecture on the subject matter includes powerpoint presentation of drug labels improperly (read unprofessionally) done that were collected from community drugstores and hospital pharmacies.

In one of this orientation lecture, an intern revealed to us that the pharmacist in a community drugstore where she had her internship reprimanded her for completing the information on the label simply because it took her longer to fill the prescription order.

What a disgusting way to train our interns!!!

For not filling a violative prescription

In one of our meetings, a senior pharmacist in-charge of the outpatients pharmacy outlet informed us about an incident regarding a doctor who prescribes by writing only the brand name of the drug on the prescription pad.

The pharmacist did not fill the prescription and asked the patient to get a correct one. The doctor was irritated and told the pharmacist that if his prescriptions were to be returned to him just to make him indicate the generic name of the drug, he might as well instruct the patient to buy the medicines outside the hospital.

What does this mean?

It means that while some of us do our best to follow the provisions of the Generics Act, violative prescriptions are still being filled in many drugstores and pharmacies instead of being rejected and/or reported to the Department of Health, as required by law.

When the Generics Act was enacted in 1988, then Secretary of Health, Alfredo R. A. Bengzon, M.D., issued Administrative Order No. 63 series of 1989 whereby "associations of affected professionals are enjoined to promote compliance in order to achieve a smooth transition to the next phase of full implementation" of the law. (Section 9)

After almost 19 years since the enactment of the said law, I think that the Philippine Pharmaceutical Association (PPhA) and its affiliate organizations and societies have a lot more to do.

The PPhA's Code of Ethics states that "A pharmacist, in coordination with the government and other health professionals helps in the formulation and implementation of health care policies, standards and programs designed for the benefit of society."

I wish that like in the Philippine Medical Association (PMA),* the Code of Ethics for Pharmacists has implementing provisions against unethical and unprofessional conduct as grounds for reprimand, suspension or expulsion from the PPhA.

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Reference:

* http://www.pma.com.ph

A frontline pharmacist in action

One time I made a phone call to one of our outlets that serves the out-patients. I was put on hold for a while by the clerk who answered the call and while waiting for the pharmacist, I overheard her giving instructions to patients on the proper administration of their medicines.

As a trainer, I often wonder whether we are effective in giving encouragement and support to our frontline pharmacists so they may be able to provide drug information and patient counselling despite their heavy workload. So, you can just imagine my joy and excitement overhearing one of our frontline pharmacists counselling patients in action!

Surely, I made it a point that I let her know I am very pleased by what she does...