DOCTORS in government hospitals and health
centers are banned from prescribing branded medicines starting
Nov. 21, based on the DOH-approved implementing rules and
regulations (IRR) of the Universally Accessible Cheaper and
Quality Medicines Act of 2008 or R.A. 9502.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque said all
government health agencies and personnel as well as other
government agencies, including government-owned and controlled
corporations shall use generic names in all transactions related
to purchasing, prescribing, dispensing, reimbursing and
administering of drugs and medicines.
Dr. Robert So, program manager of the DOH
Pharmaceutical Management Units, however said branded medicine
may still be prescribed if the patient asks for it, although it
cannot be written as a prescription.
The 67-page IRR also reiterated the
obligation of drugstores and other medicine retailers to present
"menus" and their prices to customers as required under the
Generics Act of 1988.
Sen. Mar Roxas, the law’s principal author,
said that for the law to have a meaningful impact, government
should allocate enough funds for the parallel importation of
affordable medicines.
He said as part of his proposal to realign P100 billion of
the 2009 budget, at least P10 billion should be allotted on top
of the budgets of various agencies implementing the Cheaper
Medicines Act. – Gerard Naval and JP Lopez
