My View on Separate Dispensing

Finally, after all the submissions of portfolios & presentations, I get to put my thoughts down on this issue which gave us a 'false excitement'. Elaine has approached me about writing a letter to the papers to speak up as pharmacy students (as most comments were sent in by doctors and pharmacists' views are unheard of, or censored; I am not sure which) as well as correcting the public's misconception that may have arisen due to statements by certain parties. Dr T has agreed to edit our letter. Your feedbacks are more than welcome!!!

Elaine is working on the rebuttals and we both will improve on this with the inputs by friends. Wai L has been surprisingly [to me anyway] passionate about this and has showed me a doctor's view FOR separate dispensing HERE.


I have come up with this draft so far:

On Separate Dispensing

The basis behind separate dispensing is because there needs to be a secondary level filter to ensure that the drugs given to patients are safe. This is not a case of who is overriding whose instructions, but rather, a check-and-balance that will improve the outcome of drug therapy. If the pharmacist tries to play doctor and the patient is adversely affected, a check with the pharmacy inventory system will reveal what had been dispensed.

Moreover, pharmacist doesn’t have the right to change the doctor’s prescription. If the pharmacist detects something of concern in the prescription (e.g. dosage adjustment, drug interaction), he will then call the doctor and discuss with the doctor. If the doctor insists on his prescription, then the pharmacists will have to fill that script unless the pharmacist feels strongly that there is a chance that the prescription may adversely affect the patient, they can inform the appropriate authority.

Separate dispensing is a step further towards empowering the consumers. In Malaysia, most clinics do not write the name of the medication on the packaging even though this practice is required by the law. In fact, most clinics in Malaysia, medications are not dispensed by doctors who prescribe them. Dispensing in the clinic is carried out by dispensers or nurses.

With separate dispensing, consumers can then make informed choices as pharmacists could provide the necessary drug counseling. The consumers could also be given a choice to decide whether to use generic or branded drugs as well as comparing prices.

Pharmacists’ Roles [This is more or less the comment which I wrote to nst online]

Pharmacists have been trained in pharmaceutical care (the responsible provision of drug therapy with definitive outcomes) and thus they are in good position to carry out the role of dispensing, which not only includes giving out the correct medicines, but also valuable information for the patient throughout the therapy, including counseling on side effects.

Pharmacists do not have the expertise to diagnose major illnesses such as asthma, but as part of the healthcare team and as a healthcare professional, they do know the signs and symptoms of such illnesses and will make appropriate referrals to general practitioners when the occasion arises.

Likewise, doctors are not as well-trained as pharmacists in pharmacology and this is where pharmacists complement doctors in the provision of healthcare; pharmacists are trained in all things related to medicines, e.g. dosage adjustment in renal failure, interactions with other drugs, side effects, to name a few. Though pharmacists are not trained in diagnosis, they do study the drugs from the disease point of view and not merely drugs in isolation., which is why there exists a class of drugs that pharmacist can dispense according to symptoms without a prescription.

In fact, in the UK, the government is actively encouraging people to consult a pharmacist before they see doctors. This is all in an attempt to reduce waiting times in GP clinics and will allow GPs to tend to the people who are more in need of serious medical attention as compared to those who only have minor illnesses.