By DANNY O. SAGUN
PIA Pangasinan Infocenter

SAN CARLOS CITY – Gov. Victor E. Agbayani has directed heads of government hospitals to see to it that their in-house pharmacies maintain a steady supply of medicines to discourage doctors from prescribing medicines that are said to be available only from certain private drugstores at prohibitive cos.

Agbayani issued the order following persistent reports that some prescribed medicines by doctors at the provincial hospital here could only be bought from certain pharmacies located outside the hospital, not from the hospital pharmacy itself.

Dr. Policarpio Manuel, chief of clinics and presently officer-in-charge of the PPH, noted however that the availability now of several kinds of cheaper medicines as approved by the Bureau of Food and Drugs could have contributed to the controversy.

He said that he, for one, prescribes medicines that are much cheaper than the popular and branded medicines. Problems may arise however, he said, when such cheaper drugs are out of stock since drugstore owners may only stock a few of these items. He explained that when such drugs are already widely prescribed by most doctors only then will pharmacies to include the big ones, being to buy enough stocks. Tinitingnan kasi yong flow ng prescription,” he said.

“Kaya nga sinabihan ko yong mga ahente na dapat mayroon silang enough stocks” he said in a phone interview.

With the entry of cheaper drugs in the market, popular branded drugs now face competition, he said, citing as example two equally potent drugs for hypertension which cost a much cheaper P25 per tablet versus a popular brand which costs P75 per piece.

On medicine stocks at the PPH pharmacy, Manuel said he sees to it that there is enough stock of widely prescribed and cheaper medicines particularly antibiotics, “Pero wala yong mga high-end drugs,” he said referring to highly-priced medicines.

Patients however can always make a choice thru the use of generic names of the medicines, he said.

He said that since February, all physicians at the PPH have been directed to prescribed medicines that are available in the hospital pharmacy, except for the expensive drugs.