Some places have pharmacies next to each other, but some places don't have any.

Previously, the distance between two pharmacies had to be at least 200 meters and the pharmacy had to be a level 3 building or higher. However, in the Circular guiding the conditions for practicing medicine and pharmacy, which took effect from July 4, 2002, these regulations were abolished. And recently, at the 7th session, the National Assembly discussed in the hall the draft Law on amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Pharmacy, National Assembly member Pham Khanh Phong Lan (HCMC delegation) proposed to re-establish the condition of distance between pharmacies.

Pharmacies will have to compete and sell drugs at all costs.

On the sidelines of the National Assembly, National Assembly Delegate Pham Khanh Phong Lan - Director of the Department of Food Safety of Ho Chi Minh City had an exchange with Nguoi Dua Tin (NDT) about the problem of managing the current large number of pharmacies.

Investor: Madam, at the discussion in the hall, you mentioned the current situation of being able to buy anything you want at a pharmacy, this is a painful reality. What is your view on the opening of pharmacies today?

National Assembly Deputy Pham Khanh Phong Lan: Since I was a university student, the private medical practice ordinance stipulates that the distance between pharmacies must be 500 meters. The distance does not count when the pharmacist himself is the one who opens the pharmacy and does not rent the space.

In the past, pharmacists had to have a practicing certificate and work in a certain city to be allowed to open a pharmacy. But now, the distance has been abolished, you can open a pharmacy anywhere. This leads to the consequence that if you go in Ho Chi Minh City, there are areas with pharmacies close together, but there are also remote areas with no pharmacies.

Furthermore, pharmacists now only need a practicing certificate to be able to open a pharmacy anywhere. So, for example, a pharmacist with a practicing certificate is working for a pharmaceutical company in another province such as Yen Bai or Lao Cai but still opens a pharmacy in the city.

If the argument is that it is granted first, and then during the operation, if the pharmacist is not present at the pharmacy during the inspection, then there will be a fine. However, when the pharmacy is operating, there is also a Law attached, when going to inspect and not seeing the pharmacist, there will be a power of attorney. If suddenly going on a business trip somewhere for a few days, it is still acceptable, but the pharmacist himself is registered in another place, working in another city, so how can he be present at the pharmacy? The situation of renting a license cannot be ruled out, and this is a painful reality.

National Assembly Deputy Pham Khanh Phong Lan talks in the hallway of the National Assembly.

Investor: The amendment of the Pharmacy Law is expected to resolve most of the current problems and shortcomings, while adding many new contents to ensure increased access to medicine for people. Will having more pharmacies solve the problem of increased access to medicine for people, madam?

National Assembly Deputy Pham Khanh Phong Lan: In the report of the Ministry of Health on the summary of the 2016 Pharmacy Law, it is stated that this is good, increasing people's access to pharmacies.

But, I do not judge like that, the important thing is to make sure people use medicine effectively and safely.

When pharmacies are so crowded, the consequence is that, dividing the average number of pharmacies from 39,200 to 67,000. That means that in 2016, a pharmacy instead of serving 2,217 people now serves only 1,564 people, while internationally, a pharmacy serves 4,182 people.

Going to buy medicine may be a bit far, but obviously, a pharmacy serving many people will be more profitable.

When serving fewer people, profits will decrease, profits will decrease, and the pharmacy will have to worry about many operating costs. Therefore, to survive, the pharmacy will have to compete, sell drugs at all costs, and sell any drug that wants to buy.

Meanwhile, medicine is a special item, prescription drugs must have a doctor's opinion, like antibiotics that require a prescription. If taken indiscriminately, it will lead to antibiotic resistance and cause harm.

Difficult to control drug prices

Investor: According to the delegate, are most pharmacies currently selling drugs indiscriminately?

National Assembly Deputy Pham Khanh Phong Lan: The majority! Because they reason “if I don’t sell, someone else will”, “if I don’t sell, I’ll lose customers”. In our country today, there is a sad reality that there are doctors who sell medicine right at the clinic, while pharmacists (who sell medicine) arbitrarily sell medicine to patients. They even replace the doctor’s role in diagnosing the disease. Therefore, both sides must be responsible, and should not take responsibility from each other for profit.

Investor: When opening a pharmacy, there must be specific standards and techniques?

National Assembly Deputy Pham Khanh Phong Lan: When evaluating to open a pharmacy, there must be standards for good pharmacy practice, and there must be provisions on how pharmacists advise patients... Try going abroad, if you have a sore throat, I dare you to buy an antibiotic, you can see that buying medicine there is not easy.

Medicine is a special item, prescription drugs must have a doctor's opinion.

Investor: So, in your opinion, what solutions do we need to manage the purchase and sale of drugs, because if we cut down many pharmacies, it will cause difficulties for people?

National Assembly Deputy Pham Khanh Phong Lan: In my opinion, the number of pharmacies does not need to be as large as it is now. People should prioritize their own safety over convenience. People who are sick need to see a doctor.

As for the argument that many pharmacies solve urgent medical problems, I think that if there is no pharmacy nearby, urgent problems must be treated at the hospital.

Therefore, in the policy and orientation, it is necessary to consider which areas are lacking and have support policies to open pharmacies to serve the people.

I think that there needs to be a law to regulate the opening of pharmacies. In remote areas, it is encouraged to open, but in areas where pharmacies are close together, it is discouraged and restricted.

Not to mention the distribution issue. Here we can say that the reality is that the number of distribution companies, wholesalers and retail pharmacies has exploded, since the 2016 Pharmacy Law until now the number has increased greatly. Such an increase only increases the intermediary stage, causing drug prices to increase, leading to difficulties in controlling drug prices.

While our post-inspection mechanism and inspection apparatus remain the same and the number of pharmacies has also increased. The number of drug inspectors can be counted on the fingers. For example, in the whole of Ho Chi Minh City, the Department of Health only has 5 drug inspectors, districts, health offices are lucky to have one pharmacist, and there are health offices that have no pharmacists at all, only doctors.

If you go to a pharmacy to inspect, you have to talk to the pharmacist, but if you don't have expertise, you can't argue, so this is very difficult.

Investor: In your opinion, what responsibility should the Ministry of Health have in managing pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and functional foods? At the same time, with the current proliferation of pharmacies and reckless sales, what advice do you have for people in choosing drugs?

National Assembly Deputy Pham Khanh Phong Lan: The first issue here is the responsibility of drafting the Law, which needs to address the root of the problem. In particular, during the operation, post-inspection is important. In addition, I am also concerned that the draft Law still does not have any regulations on the management of cosmetics and functional foods...

Besides, I also have advice for people, medicine is a special item, related to health. Therefore, choosing safe and quality medicine is important. When people are sick, they should go to the hospital for examination and treatment.

Investor: Thank you very much!

Buying and selling drugs at many pharmacies is still quite comfortable.

Previously, regarding the control of the drug market through drugstore systems, National Assembly Delegate La Thanh Tan (Hai Phong delegation) pointed out that the current Law has many regulations related to the control of drug trading activities at drugstores. However, in reality, the purchase and sale of drugs at many pharmacies and drugstores is still quite comfortable, including drugs that require a prescription from a specialist.

It is still quite common for drug sellers to self-diagnose, prescribe and advise buyers without any relevant professional qualifications in the medical and pharmaceutical fields. This leads to many risks to people's health such as incorrect use, overdose, side effects of drugs, etc. Therefore, delegates proposed to add specific regulations and sanctions to more strictly and effectively control this issue in practice .

Source: https://www.nguoiduatin.vn/co-noi-san-sat-nha-thuoc-nhung-co-noi-khong-co-nha-thuoc-nao-a670466.html