Sunday, April 20, 2008

A Lot on My Head Recently..

First Posted on 13th April 2008:

Good morning on yet another Black Monday. Work is piling up on my end, but I'm taking a bit of time to speak what's been on my mind these couple of days. So today I'm going to talk about pig farming, the tumpangnaut issue again, and the separation of prescribing / dispensing medicine (not really politically motivated, but corruption nonetheless).

Recently the issue of the mega pig farm project has been played up by Utusan Melayu and UMNO for political reasons. From environmental to muslim issues, it seems that UMNO has been doing a lot of legwork in showing the people how 'disrespectful' the new government of Selangor has been to the rakyat. And even after the explanation given by the Menteri Besar of Selangor that the costs of the megapork project would be bourne by the pig farmers, that the technology used would emit zero pollution, that with this megaproject all other pig farms in Selangor would be moved there and no other pig-rearing license would be issued in Selangor, they still go on and on and on like a headless chicken complaining about nonexistent problems. To me, the best solution for me would be for Tan Sri Khalid to produce all the documents on the pig project after the analysis to the public's scrutiny to end the debacle.

I guess the rakyat have suddenly had an injection of IQ power enough to demand for so many information now, so different from what I've been used to, a herd of cattle blindly following the sheepdog government.

And on to our Malaysian favourite. Our very own Tumpangnaut, the first in the world. He's even got a book on himself! I can't imagine what he has to say about his life in space.. sleep, eat, look at space, teh tarik abit, eat roti canai, fetch stuff for the Russians and Americans.. What's so interesting about all this that you are compelled to buy that book? I hope none reading this have bought it, otherwise I'd be embarrassed to admit that you're my friend. And so, they've reported that the 'naut's results would be published soon. And here I thought that his time in the sun has already expired after the elections, when he went campaigning with BN members using his 'celebrity' status. yuck. It would be fun to see how the world would react to his 'findings' though. Well, we'll wait and see.

And last but not least, the fight for the separation of prescribing and dispensing drugs by pharmacists have been brought down hard by the corrupt practising doctors in Malaysia. Why do I say corrupt? Because doctors have been monopolizing the right to prescribe and dispense since 1952. And even with the pressure put on by pharmacists for their right to dispense, these more influential doctors who have pecuniary interests have resisted and lobbied to stop the pharmacists from getting their basic rights. But aren't pharmacists supposed to just sell supplements and emergency contraceptive pills in the first place? WRONG!

Since most of us aren't even born yet when the Poisons Act of 1952 was established, all of us are already used to going to clinics and getting our medications from there, and we only go to the pharmacists when we need contrceptives and supplements or some cough mixtures. So what's the problem here? For those who have went overseas, namely Australia, USA or UK, and fell sick there, you must have seen how their healthcare systems work over there. You visit the doctor for a consultation, the doctor prescribes the necessary medication for you, and you take the prescription to the pharmacist to collect your meds, just like what we do in hospitals here in Malaysia. The problem is, when the doctors have absolute power in prescribing and dispensing drugs, a high risk of conflict of interest may occur. They might diagnose you with some probable conditions just so that you'd have to take more medications. In addition, the drugs that they give you might be just generic drugs, selling at branded prices. But the doctors say they sell generic drugs so that we are able to pay less for the clinical fees. But tell me, has anyone ever paid less for their visits to the clinic before? Everytime you go, it either goes up again, or you'll feel relieved that the price hasn't changed.

But the doctors say, how many pharmacies do you see here in Malaysia? Not enough! And the pharmacists are usually not around when you need them the most! This, my dear economically-challenged doctors, is because of supply and demand. Because pharmicists have been reduced to the store-keeping job that they are doing now in Malaysia, they'd much rather work in huge pharmaceutical companies where the pay is better and their work appreciated. But just imagine, if the practice of separation is in place, more pharmacists will be needed, and thus more pharmacies will be opened! A 24-hour pharmacy would even be feasable in this situation! Heck, I would go as far to say that I'd open one with my wife if it ever comes to this!

And the benefits of having all this? If you didn't know, pharmacists are also professionals, and they also have the knowledge of diagnosing common symptoms of patients, much like what the general practitioners (GP) do in clinics all over the country. But one difference is that pharmacists DO NOT CHARGE consultancy fees at all. Another benefit for us is that we will be able to take control of our medications. Tell me again, how many of you know the name of medications you are given by your doctors (besides the fact that this is for my fever, and this is for my runny nose)? And how much do these medications cost apart from your doctor's consultation fees? Transparency is nil in this aspect. All doctors charge you as a 'package', consultation fees and medications in one fell swoop. Even when the medications are generic (you know they're generic when they don't have any brand names on them, which, unfortunately, is *usually* nearly all of them), you still pay RM50-RM70 each time you go to the doctors'.

But alas, all the points that I raise here are useless, not just because the powers of the doctors are more widespread than pharmacists in Malaysia, but because of our own public ignorance. Since all of us have been raised this way, it is nearly impossible for us to change our ways overnight. BUT! What we can do is have those money-sucking GP's break down all the costs for the meds and consultation for us to compare with pharmacies. Trust me, as a Malaysian, most of us will probably take the 'itemised' bill just to compare the prices of meds with the pharmacies. And through this way will our public educate themselves on how the importance of the practice of separation of prescription and dispensing will be in their lives.

sonJa iNC, signing off (at last!)

No to Corruption and Stupidity (in anything!)

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