50% price cut on drugs needs fine-tuning - DOH

One week into the implementation of the Cheaper Medicines Act, health authorities admitted there is still much fine-tuning to do to enforce a 50-percent price cut on essential medicines. Amid allegations that some pharmaceuticals and drugstores continue to defy the Cheaper Medicines Law, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said the Department of Health (DOH) still needs to make help desks fully operational on a nationwide scale. Also, he said that the Health department is strengthening mechanisms to investigate and punish defiant drugstores and pharmacies. “Inumpisahan nating buuin sa malalayong lugar sa mga rehiyon, nguni’t medyo mangangailangan ng kaunting panahon ito para masasabing fully operational ang mga ito (We have started setting up the desks in the regions but we will need time before they become fully operational)," he said in an interview on dzBB radio. Duque said the DOH would soon come up with a list of a second batch of medicines that would be subjected to 50-percent price slash. But he said this will come after three months, when the review of the implementation of the 50-percent price cut of the first batch of medicines shall have been accomplished. “Ang mahalaga, pagkatapos ng tatlong buwan rerepasuhin natin, alamin natin, susukatin natin ang naging tagumpay ng implementation ng Cheaper Medicines Law (After three months, we will review our program and fine-tune the implementation)," he said. Earlier, Duque advised buyers of medicines to keep their receipts, which they need to initiate investigations against hardheaded drugstores and pharmacies. Duque said they caught some drugstores defying the order, after a customer kept the receipt and showed it to authorities. Also, he said that problems in regard to the initial enforcement of the law are expected. But Duque also reminded drugstores and pharmacies that they might face sanctions ranging from a P1,000 fine to the loss of their license to operate and the cancellation of their certificate of product registration for violating the law. On the other hand, he said small drugstores with manual inventory systems have a grace period of up to Sept. 15 to comply with the 50-percent price cut. - GMANews.TV