GENERIC PRESCRIBING


Sri lankan health minister, a failed lawyer, has declared that prescribing in trade names is punishable by jail term.Not even 5 % of pharmacies in Sri Lanka have qualified pharmacists.There are more that 100 generics of some drugs.Sometimes the highest priced ones in about 25 times the price of the cheapest.The discretion of a pharmacy salesman is used to decide whether to dispense the two rupee tablet or the fifty rupee tablet.Sri Lanka has very poor facility to test quality of a drug.Serious injustice has been done to the patient because of this unfair ruling on doctors.Ministers idea is that this move will discourage favours from pharmaceutical industry to doctors.The favours will now be directed to salesmen in pharmacies instead of doctors.Isn't the minister robbing Peter to pay Paul?