ST Forum, Feb 27, 2006

THE letter, 'High prices for common drugs in HDB heartland' (ST, Feb 21), by Madam Gan Siok Wah clearly shows the price of medicine in Singapore can be exorbitant.
 
A member of my family was charged more than $40 by a doctor just for a small rash, but the medicine proved totally ineffective. In all, the person spent over $100 with various doctors without success. Instead, the rash was later cured quickly and effectively with a $6 non- prescriptive ointment from a pharmacy which was recommended by the attendant pharmacist.

One way to counter high prices of medical care is to liberalise the distribution of prescriptive medicine via pharmacies. I have already petitioned the Government on this. Other countries that are more advanced medically have done this, so why not Singapore?

Furthermore, university-trained pharmacists are well-versed in the use of prescription medicine so why are they not allowed to dispense them via pharmacies? In the current situation, the pharmacist may need a prescription from the doctor just to use a prescriptive medicine on himself.

If medicine becomes too expensive, more people will prefer to sleep away their common illnesses - but for one thing. If one is working or studying, one's employer or school will accept only a doctor's medical certificate to excuse one's absence.

So even if one is treated by, say, a certified physician of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), whose charges tend to be cheaper, an MC from him is useless. One must still pay a doctor to get a recognised MC. This adds unnecessarily to the cost of health care.

Why is TCM, which is part and parcel of our traditional Asian culture, not given the respect it deserves - especially when the physician has been certified by the authorities.

Besides, some people respond better to herbal medicine just as some do to Western medicine.

I therefore suggest that the Government liberalise the distribution of prescriptive Western medicine via pharmacies and give legal recognition to MCs issued by pharmacists and certified physicians.

I believe the cost of Western medicine has driven some people in other countries to buy them via legitimate outlets on the Internet, saving them a lot of money.

To give an indication, the demand for online medicine is so great that last year the Canadian government said it could not afford to jeopardise its national supply of medicine by selling it via online pharmacies.

Chia Hern Keng

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