-By Medical Correspondent
(Lanka-e-News -10.Feb.2025, 11.00 PM) Imagine this: You walk into a pharmacy in Colombo with a prescription from your trusted family doctor. You hand it over, pay in cash, and walk out with a small paper bag of life-saving medication. But what if that medicine isn’t what it claims to be? What if it’s a counterfeit, a dangerously ineffective or even harmful knock-off? Worse yet, what if you have no way of proving where you bought it or if it was legitimate in the first place?
This isn’t a hypothetical scenario. It’s a growing concern in Sri Lanka’s pharmaceutical landscape, where the lack of stringent regulatory enforcement has allowed counterfeit medications to seep into the market. Now, there’s a bold proposal on the table: Should Sri Lankan pharmacies switch to digital payments only, as a means of authenticating products and protecting consumers?
Under the National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA), pharmacies in Sri Lanka are supposed to operate under the careful eye of Drug Act No. 27 of 1980. This law mandates that only qualified pharmacists can dispense medications, ensuring prescriptions are properly reviewed, drug interactions are checked, and, most importantly, that the medicines are genuine.
However, reality paints a very different picture. A staggering 89% of pharmacies in Sri Lanka reportedly operate without a qualified pharmacist on site. That’s not just a small oversight—that’s a full-blown health hazard. Imagine getting prescribed a powerful medication, only to have it dispensed by someone with no formal training, handing over pills that could be counterfeit, expired, or dangerously mixed with other substances.
To make matters worse, some medical doctors aren’t exactly innocent in this pharmaceutical free-for-all. Reports suggest that doctors are pushing specific brands of drugs, not because they’re better, but because they come with perks—think gifts, freebies, and even financial incentives from pharmaceutical companies eager to see their products on the shelves.
This means patients aren’t always getting the best medicine for their condition; they’re getting the medicine that benefits their doctor’s wallet. It’s like going to a restaurant, ordering a salad, and the chef sending out a triple cheeseburger because the beef supplier slipped him a little something extra under the table.
But perhaps the most alarming issue is the rise of counterfeit medicines. These fake drugs are nearly impossible for the average person to identify. Without sophisticated lab equipment or pharmaceutical training, how is someone supposed to know if their life-saving heart medication is genuine or a cleverly disguised placebo?
In countries like Thailand and Malaysia, governments have cracked down on this by introducing strict digital payment systems for pharmacies. By accepting only card payments, pharmacies create a traceable transaction record. If a counterfeit drug is discovered, authorities can easily track where it was sold and who sold it. No more “he said, she said” when it comes to fake meds—the digital trail doesn’t lie.
Additionally, some Southeast Asian countries have introduced QR codes on medication packaging. Consumers can simply scan the code with their smartphones, and voila! The batch number and product details pop up, confirming whether the drug was legitimately sold to that pharmacy. If there’s a mismatch, the consumer can immediately report the issue to regulatory bodies, triggering swift investigations.
Could a similar system work in Sri Lanka? Moving to digital-only payments at pharmacies would certainly tighten the net around counterfeiters. Not only would it create a clear paper trail (or, rather, a digital one), but it would also make it easier for the NMRA and other regulatory bodies to crack down on illegal activities.
However, this isn’t just about switching from cash to cards. For this system to truly work, several structural changes need to happen:
1. Stricter Enforcement of Pharmacy Regulations: It’s not enough to have rules on paper. The NMRA needs to step up its game, ensuring that every pharmacy is staffed by qualified pharmacists. Regular inspections should be conducted, and pharmacist licenses should be renewed every six months, not every few years.
2. Cracking Down on Fake Pharmacists: There’s a troubling trend of qualified pharmacists renting out their licenses to multiple pharmacies. This loophole allows unqualified individuals to dispense medication under the guise of legitimacy. This practice needs to be strictly prohibited, with severe penalties for both the license holders and the offending pharmacies.
3. Police Involvement in Enforcement: Currently, the police have limited authority to intervene in pharmacy-related issues. That needs to change. Empowering law enforcement to investigate and shut down non-compliant pharmacies will add another layer of accountability. After all, nothing wipes the smug grin off a counterfeit drug dealer’s face faster than a police raid.
4. Transparent Pricing Mechanisms: To prevent price gouging and ensure fairness, the NMRA should publish daily updated drug prices on their website. This would allow consumers to verify if they’re being overcharged and create a more competitive, transparent marketplace.
5. Public Shaming of Offenders: Sometimes, the court of public opinion is more effective than legal proceedings. Pharmacies caught selling counterfeit drugs should be publicly named and shamed. This not only deters other pharmacies from engaging in similar behavior but also informs the public about which businesses to avoid.
While the idea of moving to digital payments sounds like a panacea, it’s important to consider the practical challenges. Not everyone in Sri Lanka has access to digital payment methods. Rural areas, in particular, might struggle with limited internet connectivity, low smartphone penetration, and a general distrust of digital transactions. Forcing digital payments across the board could inadvertently cut off vulnerable populations from accessing essential medicines.
There’s also the issue of data privacy. With every transaction being tracked and logged, who has access to this data? How secure is it? The last thing anyone wants is their medical history falling into the wrong hands because of a poorly secured payment system.
So, is it time for Sri Lankan pharmacies to go digital-only? Yes, but with caveats. Digital payments could be a powerful tool in the fight against counterfeit drugs, but they’re not a silver bullet. They need to be part of a broader strategy that includes stricter regulations, better enforcement, and increased public awareness.
At the end of the day, the goal is simple: to protect the health and safety of Sri Lankan citizens. Whether that’s achieved through digital payments, stricter regulations, or a combination of both, one thing is clear—the current system isn’t working. And when it comes to life-saving medications, that’s a risk no one should have to take.
It’s time to rewrite the prescription for Sri Lanka’s pharmaceutical industry. Because when it comes to your health, there should be no room for fakes.
---------------------------
by (2025-02-10 19:27:13)
Read 14442 Times
Leave a Reply
0 discussion on this news