Sarawak PKR is urging the state to reject the implementation of a new medical system tentatively called ‘Doctors diagnose, pharmacists dispense’.

 

 “Patients may have to fork more for medicines and doctors’ consultation fees by April 2015 when GST is implemented,” said Sarawak PKR vice-chairperson Boniface Willy Tumek.

 

This system may double or even triple costs for rural patients especially in towns where there are no pharmacies.

 

Speaking at a media conference yesterday, Willy said that Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) would host a doctors’ forum on Sunday to enable doctors to discuss the dispensing separation system.

 

Under this, doctors would confine themselves to diagnosing ailments of their patients and writing out prescriptions, while the dispensing of medicines would be done solely by pharmacists, he said.

 

According to Willy ( right ), medical practitioners who had been following closely the major changes proposed for this sector including the highly controversial ‘1care for 1Malaysia system’ were worried about the consequences of the proposal especially with GST on the horizon.

 

“It is not entirely clear yet how GST will impact on the medical and healthcare sectors,” said Willy.

 

He quoted the president of the Malaysian community Pharmacy Guild (MACG) Wong Sie Sing as saying recently that the proponents of the system represented by three medical practitioners’ associations and two bodies representing pharmacies, had agreed in principle that dispensing was to be left to the pharmacists.

 

The proponents and backers of the proposed system believed that the system would help to drive down prices of medicines.

 

However Willy said general practitioners (GP) in Sarawak did not think so, pointing out that the medical bills from the GPs typically consisted of two items – consultation fees and cost of medicines.

 

Consultation fees are regulated by the General Practitioners Schedule of Fees under the Private Healthcare Facilities and Services (PHFS) Act 1998 and Regulations 2006.

 

'Below approved rate'

Most GPs charge below the approved rate, especially those operating in medium and low-cost residential locations. They make up the difference somewhat by moderately marking up the cost of medicine dispensed, but still cheaper than what a pharmacist would charge.

 

“They are saying that if the ‘Doctors diagnose, pharmacists dispense’ system is practised in the state, they will be forced to charge the maximum rate for consultation fees.

 

“At the same time, there is no guarantee that the cost of medicines will be cheaper from the pharmacists. In fact, for certain types of drugs, pharmacists typically increase the price by 10 to 15 percent annually,” he said.

 

Willy said that Sarawak PKR is worried that the new setup would inconvenience patients in small towns where there were no pharmacies, compared to the present practice which is a convenient one-stop system.

 

“So far there have been no complaints from patients,” he said while urging the state to reject the system.