There are other pertinent matters than the issue of the separation of roles of doctors and pharmacists in dispensing medication, the Malaysian Pharmaceutical Society (MPS) said.

MPS deputy president Amrahi Buang believes the separation of roles will never occur with the country’s current healthcare system.

He pointed out that the two-tier system - involving both the government and private sectors - was the reason for the gap in medical costs between the two.

“There is no medicine price control in the private sector - this must be rectified first. Everyone will benefit if we have a good system,” he told Malaysiakini .

The University Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC) chief pharmacist said the lack of control had led to the soaring price of medicines.

“If there is no organised system, medical costs will rise.

“It is still a long way for the separation of roles in dispensing. The government must first control the private sector so that it becomes part of the system.

“The two-tier system sees the government sector as well as the private sector, which lacks control,” said Amrahi, who expressed hope that the system will enable everyone to have access to healthcare services.

He also hoped that medicine price control will ensure the price of medicines are the same in both government and private hospitals - or at least for the private hospitals to abide by the recommended price.

He explained that an organised system will enable medical practitioners, as well as pharmacists to determine a reasonable fee.

“This system will determine the standards,” he said, adding that objections made by medical practitioners that their source of income will be affected should separation of roles occur were only based on assumptions.

The Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) previously claimed the government had given its assurance that plans for the separation of roles of doctors and pharmacists in dispensing medication will not be implemented anytime soon.

MMA president Dr H Krishna Kumar said Health Minister S Subramaniam ( left ) had confirmed with him that the Pharmacy Act was still far from being tabled.

Krishna said the possible separation of the roles of doctors and pharmacists also drew concerns on the rising cost of medication.

Medical practitioners are worried that consumers have to foot an additional bill for consulting pharmacists, which would subsequently affect their source of income at private clinics.