Don’t waste medicines
Dear Sir,
These days we see a number of billboards with awareness messages related to Tarsheed, the national campaign for the conservation and efficient use of water and electricity in Qatar. One such message says: “Waste Today Risk Tomorrow, 4,800 Medical Treatments Wasted/Year”.
I would like to point out that it is not just treatments that are being wasted; medicines are also being thrown away, literally. Suppose a patient visits a clinic for treatment for flu and the doctor there, after diagnosis, often prescribes medication to be taken three times a day for three days. The patient then goes to the in-house pharmacy for buying the prescribed medicines. Since the doctor has prescribed medication to be taken three times a day for three days,the simple logic is that the pharmacy should issue only nine tablets/capsules. But things don’t happen this way. The pharmacy issues a box of 15 or 30 tablets/capsules. The patient is forced to pay for all the tablets/capsules issued. Medicines are expensive and those without insurance cover have to payfrom their own pocket.
Sometimes it so happens that the same patient returns after a couple of months with the same health complaint. The doctor again prescribes the previous medication. And he once again buys the same medicine, that also in excess quantity.
The risks with this scenario are:
(1) Unwanted financial burden on people;
(2) Wastage of medicines which could be thrown in garbage. These, in turn, contaminate our environment after being dumped in landfills;
(3) It is risky to issue more than the required quantity of medicines as the patient may resort to self-treatment with the medication that are already available at home if his health condition recurs; and
(4) This adds to the financial burden of governments and insurance companies.
A pharmacist once told me that they could not sell medicines loose as per law. Why not? If each strip of tablets/capsules is printed with the batch number and their manufacture and expiry dates, the pharmacy could cut the strip up to issue only the required number.
Qatar’s medical authorities should review and reframe guidelines on medicines that are issued to patients. Such rules should be devised in a way to benefit patients, the government and our environment.
The authorities should also look at ways to reduce the cost of insurance and lower the financial burden on the uninsured.
Fazeel A Kamaran
(e-mail address supplied)
Change needed in office timings
Dear Sir,
In response to the letters appearing in Gulf Times regarding school timings, I believe the present hours are fine. The current timings make children get up early in the morning which benefits them.
It is the office timings which need to be changed in Qatar. Since most of the establishments in the state work in double shifts (generally from 7.30am to 12.30pm and from 3pm to 6pm), parents get back home at night and sleep late. It would be better to have a single shift, from 8am 4.30pm with a 30-minute break, at offices and companies.
V Krishnan
(e-mail address supplied)
