From a patient’s perspective

THIS issue of whether we should separate the prescription and dispensing of medicine between doctors and pharmacists cropped up after the number of pharmacists in the country started to increase some 10 to 20 years ago. If I remember correctly, as expected, the pharmacists were the ones who first raised this issue, as the practice since the early years right up to now has been that doctors prescribe and dispense medicines.

In recent days, as the debate on imposing this separation of duties arose again, the Malaysian Pharmaceutical Society and the Federation of Private Medical Practitioners Associations have each offered their views – the former obviously is for separation while the latter wants to keep the status quo.