KUALA LUMPUR, April 28 — Community pharmacies have come out to criticise a looming medicine price display mandate, following similar protests from private general practitioners (GPs).
The Malaysian Community Pharmacy Guild (MCPG) told The Star that pharmacies have already been displaying prices for over-the-counter (OTC) medicines and supplements.
“But the problem is price increase and fluctuation. Updating this list daily could be an unnecessary additional workload for us,” MCPG honorary secretary Rachel Gan was quoted saying.
Gan reportedly added that pharmacists may spend more time on administrative work instead of focusing on patient care. She also pointed out that reprinting catalogues due to frequent price adjustments of medicines could increase costs.
“I have been trying to prepare the list and it takes a lot of work. We need to write down the generic name of medicines and the price per unit of tablets,” she said.
“If we use electronic devices and we use a tablet just to display prices, the cheapest one would cost RM300 per unit,” she said. “So if you have several outlets, you can imagine the cost just to comply with this requirement.”
The Star reported an FAQ from the Ministry of Health’s (MOH) pharmacy division that stated that the drug price list in private health care facilities must be displayed in a physical form, such as catalogues, notice boards, laptops, desktop computers, kiosks or electronic screens.
Besides prescription drugs, the medicine price display mandate reportedly covers supplements, OTC medications, and traditional medicines.
Malaysian Chinese Medical Association president Heng Aik Teng reportedly said the group had not been informed of any requirement for a price list for traditional medicines.
“The situation regarding this matter is rather complex and requires further verification from the ministry,” he told The Star.
The Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry (KPDN) has yet to announce the gazettement of the drug price display order under the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Act 2011 (Act 723), three days before the May 1 target date of enforcement.
Jurisdiction over the price transparency policy appears to be vague; the MOH appears to be dictating the policy, with an FAQ from the pharmacy division, but KPDN will hold legal authority if the order is gazetted under Act 723 and enforcement falls under KPDN.
