Crackdown on illegal pharmacies: School leavers not pharmacists found selling meds to public

[webfact]

Picture: INN

 

INN reported on a crackdown mounted by the Central Investigation Bureau and the Food and Drug Administration on illegal practices in the distribution of pharmaceutical drugs in Thailand.

 

The action from January 4th to 21st followed  a complaint from a pharmacy that a shop, though having a licence, was prescribing drugs without a qualified pharmacist.

 

People had complained they were not getting better after being given certain drugs. 

 

The investigation was expanded nationwide and 127 law breaking shops were found.

 

Of these 17 shops had no licence at all.

 

119 did not have a qualified pharmacist on the premises.

 

77 were just university graduates, 47 high school leavers and three had just a primary school qualification.

 

Yet they were prescribing drugs to the public. 

 

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[jacko45k]

I seem to recall a similar fuss a while ago, where a pharmacy was left in the hands of a very young girl..... not certain but maybe the fuss was because a customer had been given the wrong medication. .Much lacking a sense of responsibility here. 

[Geoffggi]

Ohhh Shock Horror ???? I hope you are not trying to inform us that there are some unqualified people out there ???????????? - In case I made a mistake in any assumptions let's start again from the Top ...............LOL

[Paulaew]

I understand the concern here, but the assumption that pharmacists are qualified to prescribe medications is itself questionable. Pharmacists are not doctors and don't examine patients. If they are prescribing antibiotics, for example, after listening to the patient's account of his symptoms, this essentially amounts to medical malpractice.

 

I understand that many Thai people are not always able to see a doctor and rely on pharmacists for medical advice. But it can be a dangerous practice, given the range of pharmaceuticals that can be dispensed over the counter.

 

In the US, pharmacists are now being granted some limited prescribing authority in some states, mainly confined to drugs like birth control, naloxone and smoking cessation products.

 

Paul Laew

[RandiRona]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

77 were just university graduates, 47 high school leavers and three had just a primary school qualification

I am sure the ones who are getting pills dispensed from these shops are university graduates and primary school graduates as well. 

Most are poor to go see a doctor for prescription.

[whiteman]

At the hospital I go to one would not buy meds from them they are still 50% more expensive than just out side there door. Same meds, most Drs know that you will buy from out side. My Dr. just writes down the name of the meds and off I go. I am not worried if a  15 year old then served me in the Pharmacy. 

[Paulaew]

6 minutes ago, whiteman said:

At the hospital I go to one would not buy meds from them they are still 50% more expensive than just out side there door. Same meds, most Drs know that you will buy from out side. My Dr. just writes down the name of the meds and off I go. I am not worried if a  15 year old then served me in the Pharmacy. 

I think that would count as dispensing, not prescribing. You already have a prescription from your doctor.

 

I also buy all my meds from a pharmacy rather than a hospital. And sometimes I even self-prescribe. But I don't trust the medical advice from Thai pharmacies, even from a pharmacist.

 

Paul Laew

[Caldera]

I've been served by real pharmacists and there was hardly any noticeable difference to any other salesperson, qualified or otherwise - they simply handed me whatever it was that I wanted to buy. It's not like pharmacies aren't in it for the money in the first place.

[sandyf]

6 hours ago, Paulaew said:

I understand the concern here, but the assumption that pharmacists are qualified to prescribe medications is itself questionable.

It is a bit irrelevant what people think of the law, it is what it is.

 

• Dangerous drugs can be sold without a prescription but must be dispensed by a pharmacist only. The majority of pharmaceutical products in Thailand fall in this category.

  https://uk.practicallaw.thomsonreuters.com/0-618-6841?transitionType=Default&contextData=(sc.Default)&firstPage=true

[sandyf]

5 hours ago, whiteman said:

At the hospital I go to one would not buy meds from them they are still 50% more expensive than just out side there door.

Try another hospital. At the hospital I use my hypertension tablets are about 1 baht each, at the local pharmacies they can be anywhere from 2.5 - 4 baht each.

[BritManToo]

6 hours ago, Paulaew said:

In the US, pharmacists are now being granted some limited prescribing authority in some states, mainly confined to drugs like birth control, naloxone and smoking cessation products.

And in Thailand the pharmacy will sell you almost any drug you can name.

I prefer the Thailand way.

[bangon04]

surely you do not need a qualified pharmacist to hand out a nice bag of multicolored antibiotics ?    and the customer can choose the colors if they want to....

it is the quantity which shows respect, not the quality.

Edited January 25, 2022 by bangon04
added

[jacko45k]

22 hours ago, whiteman said:

At the hospital I go to one would not buy meds from them they are still 50% more expensive than just out side there door. Same meds, most Drs know that you will buy from out side. My Dr. just writes down the name of the meds and off I go. I am not worried if a  15 year old then served me in the Pharmacy. 

I had a hospital visit recently and it was deliberately organized so that I pretty much had to get the medication from them....some of it I could have got outside far far cheaper... but for the mystery yellow pills... some name I have never heard of. So I look them up on the internet ... 500mg of Paracetamol. All a big manipulation. 

[whiteman]

1     Try another hospital. At the hospital I use my hypertension tablets are about 1 baht each, at the local pharmacies they can be anywhere from 2.5 - 4 baht each.

 

2    I think that would count as dispensing, not prescribing. You already have a prescription from your doctor.

 

Answer to 1     I take  Pfizer Normetec 5mg/40   you can not get that for 1 bhat each it works for me.

 

2     My Dr did not give me a prescription he just wrote the name on a blank piece of paper.