Doctors warned against 'hospital holiday'

The Health department on Monday warned doctors against holding a "hospital holiday" to protest the passage of the Cheaper Medicines bill in Congress. "Kung meron mang ganong pagkilos, wag naman sumama ang mga government doctors dahil 'pag ginawa nila yon, wala rin naman kaming choice but to terminate their services (or) to suspend them," said Health Undersecretary Alexander Padilla. Medical doctors earlier warned that they will walk out of hospitals and stage a protest action against the proposed measure that would require doctors to prescribe only generics drugs. The Philippine Medical Association (PMA), an organization of doctors, accused lawmakers of “politicizing" the passage of the proposed measure that is supposed to lower the prices of drugs. The doctors argued that a provision in the bill limits doctors to prescribing generic drugs. They said it would be disadvantageous to patients. Rustico Jimenez, president of the Private Hospitals Association, said “no two medicines are the same," that is why doctors prescribe both generic and branded drugs. Dominga Padilla, past president of the Philippine Academy of Ophthalmology, said the country’s 60,000 medical doctors are “for bringing down the prices of medicines," adding, however, that they should not be limited to prescribing generic drugs only. The Health department's Padilla, however, said generic drugs are as efficient as its branded counterparts. “When (a generic drug) passed the [Bureau of Food and Drugs], then it is the same with branded medicines," said Padilla. Akbayan Rep. Risa Hontiveros-Baraquiel, one of the authors of the bill, said the approval of the measure would create “an environment to lower the prices of medicines and allow the generics industry to produce quality drugs." She said the “generics only" provision of the bill, which is being opposed by the doctors, is “non-negotiable." Socorro Escalante, program officer for essential drugs and medicines of the World Health Organization, said “all medicines registered by BFAD have met the minimum standard for safety and efficacy." Padilla noted that despite the 20-year old Generics Act, doctors have been violating it to favor branded medicines. The consumer group Cut the Cost, Cut the Pain Network (3CPNet) earlier accused the PMA of spreading myths about the efficacy and safety of generic medicines. "Their insistence to prescribe their preferred branded medicines instead of giving the patients the option to buy bio-equivalent but cheaper medicines is the main obstacle to the full implementation of the Generics Act of 1988," said Edeliza P. Hernandez, co-convenor of 3CPNet. She challenged doctors to substantiate their claim that there are different responses among patients to medicines of the same generic name. "Sadly, our doctors and physicians of the PMA who promised to protect us and uphold our very right to health seemed to be the militia for spreading this propaganda," said Hernandez. The consumer has been pressing for the passage of the Cheaper Medicines bill. "No less than the World Health Organization has been actively campaigning for the use of generic equivalent for medical treatment, even encouraging physicians to issue prescriptions using generic names only," said Hernandez. She said no one is above the universal right to health not even the doctors' preferences for drug prescription. - GMANews.TV