MPS president Amrahi Buang said pharmacists were no longer just dispensers of medication but also partners in health care and providers of care for consumers and patients.
“The role of a pharmacist in the community setting has evolved. The community pharmacists today assist patients in self-monitoring of their blood glucose levels and blood pressure levels.
“They also provide medication counselling for non-communicable diseases and help to increase patient compliance and adherence to medication therapy,” he said in a statement today.
In a recent FMT article, several GPs had said pharmacies were behind their “lacklustre” business as pharmacists were now assuming the functions of doctors by diagnosing patients, recommending alternatives to prescription medicines and even dispensing medication without prescriptions.
One of the doctors said business at his clinic had decreased by some 30% over the past year, adding that it was important for the public to realise that doctors prescribe specific medications according to a patient’s condition.
“Pharmacists cannot diagnose patients, that’s what doctors are for,” he said.
Addressing the claim that pharmacists dispense medication without prescriptions, Amrahi said there were strict rules governing the supply of medicines at clinics and pharmacies.
“Only pharmacists with a Type A licence are allowed to sell medicines by retail to patients. As per Malaysian law, only board-registered pharmacists can apply for the Poison A licence which gives them the right to provide medicine by retail.”
He said only Group B poisons required prescriptions, adding that these were hard to come by because most doctors refuse to release prescriptions for them.
“This puts the patient at a cost disadvantage and leaves the pharmacist in a situation of having to decline service to patients with chronic diseases on long-term medication.”
Amrahi said there was also a lack of clarity on the term “over-the-counter” (OTC) medication.
“The term over-the-counter (OTC) medicine is defined as medicines that are not controlled under the Poisons Act 1952.
“Examples of OTC medicines are non-poison cough preparations, sore throat preparations, anti-diarrhoea preparations and anti-constipation preparations, among others.
“These types of medicines are available at department stores, convenience stores, clinics and pharmacies, and sundry shops. It is possible that due to the vast amount of places to get these medications, clinics may be feeling the pinch.”
In Malaysia, unfortunately, there was no separation of dispensing from prescribing at the private primary community level, despite the fact that this had been proven at the worldwide level to provide additional patient safety, he said.
“The Poison Act 1952 does give doctors the full freedom to dispense medication by themselves after examining a patient.
“However they do not have the freedom to supply medicines by retail from their clinics without providing consultation to the patient first. This legislation is in place to prevent harm to the person seeking treatment.
“Patients not only have the right to request for a prescription, they also have the right to know the name (brand/generic) of the medicinal product they have been provided, and finally the medication needs to be handed over to the patient by the doctor and not the clinic staff who may or may not have the correct pharmaceutical training.”
He agreed with those who said a separation in the roles of doctors and pharmacists would save doctors a large amount of expenditure in terms of medication procurement and management of stock.
“Separation of dispensing happens in the public hospital, private hospital, and public health clinic setting. Almost three quarters of the health care system practises separation of dispensing except for the quarter that does not, namely the primary healthcare clinics,” he said.
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