Doctors Running Pharmacies

This is unethical practice.I am not referring to dispensing section of a family doctor.He charges a total sum for consultation and medicament.It is age old practice.
The problem arises when the consultants run pharmacies.These are run in the most unethical manner.Some drugs prescribed are available only in his pharmacy.They are sold at exorbitant prices.He prescribes by brand and insists that the patient uses it.Patient has no alternative other than purchasing it from the pharmacy run by the consultant.Only less informed peolple are victimised.But it so happens that even the educated people are not aware that there is no differnce between different brands of the same drug.Some of these drugs are not even registered Sri Lankan Drug authority.It is violation of Cosmetics Drugs and Devices Act to sell these drugs.
The ironical thing is one of these pharmacies is run in a channelling center at a stones throw distance from the Drug Regulatory Authority.It is owned by a medial consultant employed by the Ministry of Health

Sri Lanka Dumping Ground for Garbage from Indian
Pharmaceutical Industry



Sri Lanka has become a convenient convenient dumping ground for the Indian Pharmaceutical industry.India does have reputed drug companies ,Ranbaxy, Reddy's Laboratory ,Cipla and Torrent to mention a few.
The names companies that manufactured the drugs claimed to be substandard are never heard of.There are three kinds of drugs dumped
1. Substandard.
2.Short expiry
3.Already expired.
In India drugs are are manufactured as a cottage industry in some lacations. A kilogram amoxicillin capsules and four thousand empty capsules are delivered to homes in the morning.In the evening 4000 capsules with 250 milligrams of amxicillin is collected.That is the mechanism of dead ants and fragments of hairs getting into the capsulesThis can be prevented by dealing only with drug companies who have got the GMP (good manufacturing practice) from the World Health Organisation.
Short expiry drugs expire in store houses after the State has paid the bill.The expired drugs are relabelled.Relabelling can be done in India or locally.To do relabelling here is cheaper.
The whole exercise is to make money the illegitimate way.Money is made by both Sri Lankans and Indians by both working in drug companies and State officials.
The people who are administered the drugs pay by their life or health.All of us pay a part of this money when the State establishments settle the bills