PPhA president promoting use of generics

I was watching Unang Hirit last Friday morning in a bus on my way to work. In one of the commercial breaks, a familiar face was shown on TV.

Guess what? It was none other than Ms. Normita D. Leyesa, President of the PPhA, in a TV commercial with PITC chairman Roberto Pagdanganan promoting the use of generic drugs!

This was the first time that I've seen this kind of commercial since the Generics Act was enacted in 1988.

True enough to the PPhA preamble, President Leyesa has shown that "A pharmacist, in coordination with the government and other health professional helps in the formulation and implementation of health care policies, standards and programs designed for the benefit of society."

Let's all hope that the members of the PPhA feels the same way.

Urging pharmacists to back lowering prices of drugs

Today I sent a feedback addressed to the editor of Sunstar Manila (1) that reads:


Dear editor,

This is a reaction to the article "Pharmacists urged to back lowering prices of drugs" wherein it was stated that Senator Mar Roxas "called on the Pharmaceutical [and] HealthCare Association of the Philippines (Phap) to join hands with the Department of Health (DOH) in expanding public access to quality medicines at more affordable prices rather than block the passage of legislation to lower the cost of medicines."

I just would like to say that the Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Association of the Philippines is NOT an association of pharmacists but "a business association representing the providers of most of the country's medicines" whose "members include the country's leading research-based companies of pharmaceuticals and medical services." It claims to have a membership of at least "64 Filipino and international companies." (2)

Although the association says that it is a "non-profit, non-stock organization", (2) it is pretty obvious that it has to protect the business interests of its members.

It is true that the "cost of medicines in the country is too high" and I believe that as a pharmacist, I should support every move of the government to lower its prices for the benefit of the majority of our countrymen.

Senator Mar Roxas might as well call on the Philippine Pharmaceutical Association (PPhA), the Philippine Society of Hospital Pharmacists (PSHP), the Community Pharmacists Association of the Philippines (CPAP) as well as the Drugstores Association of the Philippines (DSAP) regarding this matter.
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References:
1. http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/man/2007/02/26/bus/pharmacists.urged.to.back.lowering.prices.of.drugs.html

2. http://www.phap.org.ph/home.aspx

Interview with an applicant

I am a member of a committee that interviews applicants for vacancies in our department.

Just recently, we interviewed a pharmacist who was previously employed in another hospital. As I went over her resume, I learned that she had finished a sponsored clinical pharmacy course.

Knowing that the sponsored course aimed at assisting other hospitals to get started with their clinical pharmacy service, I asked why she resigned from the hospital pharmacy and got herself a job in a non-government agency involved in iradicating tuberculosis in the country.

As we listened to what she was saying, we got the impression that her former colleagues were not as interested and eager as she was in pursuing a clinical pharmacy practice in their hospital. She said that was one of the reasons why she resigned.

As I write this post, I still wonder if her former colleagues are among the members of the PSHP who can say that they "have led in blazing new paths in hospital pharmacy management and originated clinical pharmacy programs that are recognized in Asia."*

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*http://www.pshp.org.ph/static.aspx?categID=10