Materia Medica Malaysiana

Patients get to pick medicine

The planned National Health Financing Scheme will give Malaysians a choice of whether to buy branded drugs or generic medication.
“This is to make things more customer-oriented,” said Health Ministry director-general Datuk Dr Ismail Merican.
“There are those who prefer branded drugs to generic ones. They will be able to buy these from the hospital pharmacy.
“It will be easier for them when they can make their own choice,” he said.
Dr Ismail said currently doctors prescribed drugs that they felt were most appropriate – generic or branded – to the patient, for free.
He said the new concept of prescription would be tried at the Selayang and Putrajaya Hospitals in June.
The two hospitals are also pioneers for the ministry’s full-paying scheme.
“The drugs offered to the Health Ministry will be offered to them at market price,” added Dr Ismail.
Branded drugs refer to drugs within a higher price bracket and are innovative in nature.
They contain active ingredients that have been “discovered” by the pharmaceutical company that holds the patent for the formulation.
Generic drugs – cheaper versions of the innovator drug – are developed by other companies when the patent has expired.
It contains the same active ingredient as the original but may have some different inactive ingredients, such as starch or sugar, that are added to provide a pleasant taste or colour or to help a tablet dissolve in the stomach.
“There is a wide choice of the drugs available. And a lot of people prefer branded drugs,” Dr Ismail said.
On the escalating cost to subsidise medication, he said a committee had been formed to look into matters.
“The cost has risen from RM200mil to RM800mil. That is a lot of money and we are studying how to cut down the rates.
“One way is to see whether there is an accurate protocol in dispensing drugs; that is, when medication is given when it is unnecessary,” he said.
Dr Ismail said there were cases of patients claiming they had lost their prescription and asked for another one to be issued.
“The doctor would be unaware of whether the patient had, in fact, handed it over to someone else,” he said.
Asked about the call by the Malaysian Medical Association for the National Health Financing Scheme to be made public once a model had been settled on, he said the scheme would be explained to everyone.
“We will inform the public before doing anything,” he added.