Dispensing Doctors vs. Pharmacists

       Every drugstores and pharmaceutical establishment is supervised by a registered and licensed pharmacist. Irregardless of the educational attainment, pharmacists are hired for pharmaceutical businesses to operate and transact on other pharmaceutical businesses and government agencies. Establishments that do not have employed pharmacists are subjected for revocation of business permit and closure.

          The rule of thumb, doctors and pharmacists are function to prescribe and dispense, respectively. To further discuss this matter we must understand that the two professions are related and connected to each other.

         When a doctor diagnoses a patient and found out the illness he will prescribe medicines to cure or mitigate the disease. Then, the patient should go to the nearest drugstore who can dispense and fill his prescription. This scenario is a typical and basic. In the Philippines, some doctors are illicitly dispensing medicines after they prescribe without the presence of registered pharmacist. According to the Pharmacy Law, an act of selling of drug products, compounding and manufacturing of drugs shall be under the immediate supervision of a registered pharmacist. It means that dispensing in the clinic of pharmaceutical products is prohibited without the supervision of a pharmacist. However, because of costly of salary that is paid to pharmacists, doctors chose not hire pharmacist anymore and illegally dispense medicines by themselves.

My Opinion and Sentiments

           I believe that all profession have their specific functions and works to do. We, pharmacists, one of our functions is to dispense drugs in pharmacy setting. The function is very clearly tagged to us ever since the profession was born. If that function is taken away from us and robbed by somebody else what will be our role in the community pharmacy with regards of giving information about the drugs to the community. I strongly disagree to what the doctors do regarding this matter. It is so unethical and unlawful. I hope that doctors ( physicians, veterinarians, and dentists) respect other professions. We know that you have a lot of businesses that earn money comparing to us, we are employed to serve one establishment and no other sidelines. We receive minimum wage that depends on the income of the drugstore. By doing it so, you are competing small low income earner drugstores and killing their business. I hope that you will help us to improve more the pharmacy profession in the Philippines and give us the chance to work according to what is due to us. I hope that you will help us provide with work through employing us in your clinics because dispensing with the presence of pharmacist is right . I hope also that the FDA will enhance and strengthen their monitoring against this illegal acts of doctors and provide a strict ordinance to resolve this issue.