Malaysia's pharmacists continue to lobby against the country's proposed Pharmacy Bill, criticising the removal of the requirement that prescriptions be mandatory, according to Free Malaysia Today.
Implications | The RUUF Focus Group (Rang Undang-Undang Farmasi: RUUF) petition has gathered over 11,000 signatures against the current draft of the Pharmacy Bill, which is expected to be tabled for Parliament this year. |
Outlook | Debate is expected to continue between the ministry of health – which continues to argue that the country is "not ready" for dispensing separation – and pharmacists, who argue that Malaysia must bring its pharmaceutical regulations in line with international standards. |
The RUUF Focus Group (Rang Undang-Undang Farmasi: RUUF) has begun an online petition against the bill that has gathered over 11,000 signatures (source: ipetitions.com), with the group aiming to collect 20,000 signatures. The Pharmacy Bill is expected to be tabled for Parliament this year.
Pharmacists argue that the removal of the requirement for mandatory prescriptions endangers patient safety, forcing patients to assume the responsibility of requesting prescriptions themselves and creating the possibility of being denied prescriptions by doctors. In response, Malaysia's Director General of Health, Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, was quoted as stating that patients had the right to complain in response to physician-mishandling of prescriptions.
According to the source, pharmacists argue that as numerous pharmacies are not permitted to dispense medicines without a valid prescription, the patient would be forced to procure medication from doctors, which may prove more expensive. There is also a potential risk for doctors to abuse the system, forcing patients to purchase repeat prescriptions – a particular risk for elderly patients taking several medications. In addition, mandatory prescriptions are already a widespread practice among Malaysia's private hospitals, meeting international standards.
Pharmacists are also campaigning against three additional provisions of the Pharmacy Bill: allowing pharmaceutical compounding to be carried out by non-pharmacists; allowing psychotropic medicines to be dispensed by prescribers; and allowing pharmaceutical technology to be supervised by non-pharmacists.
The petition by the RUUF Focus Group comes after months of lobbying around the issue of dispensing separation (DS) in Malaysia (see Malaysia: 26 May 2016: Pharmacists should control drug dispensing in Malaysia, say experts).
Outlook and implications
The issue of dispensing separation has been hotly debated in Malaysia, with the Ministry of Health (MoH) arguing that the country is "not ready" for such a move. Pharmacists have strongly criticised this view, arguing that Malaysia is set to attain developed-nation status in 2020, and should bring its pharmaceutical regulations increasingly in line with international standards. The MoH has responded by highlighting the country's inadequate number of after-hours pharmacies, which would potentially limit patient access to (emergency) treatment. In addition, the MoH has pointed to what it regards as a lack of adequate pharmacist training and ability to competently advise patients on their medication.
While the introduction of DS in Malaysia is expected to boost the pharmaceutical industry by increasing the number of sources for medication-dispensing – given that pharmacists can typically dispense a wider range of drugs than private clinics – DS may also lead to a lowering of drug prices, alongside potentially higher consultation fees (see Malaysia: 18 February 2015: Malaysia's MoH considers new pharmacy dispensing system to lower prices). Malaysia currently lacks a formal drug-pricing system, a situation that has resulted in chronically high drug prices.