Benefit of getting medicines from doctors

I REFER to the report on the preferred choice when buying medicines these days, “Costly meds a bitter pill to swallow” (The Star, Oct 22).”

The companies involved do not do justice to general practitioners/ family physicians who are truly concerned and responsible for the well-being of their patients. It is a short-sighted move for employers to look at the short-term or immediate savings on a monthly basis.

Long-term medications are taken by employees with chronic illness, for example diabetes and hypertension. These conditions require long-term monitoring, three times monthly at a minimum.

What is currently happening on the ground is that people get carried away buying/collecting medicines off the counter and skipping the doctor’s visit. This is very unfortunate and dangerous as patients would very often miss various red flags indicating that their condition is taking a turn for the worse.

This scenario has occurred once too often. After months of purchasing medicines off the pharmacy counter, patients with diabetes come back to the doctor with swollen legs and shortness of breath only to be told that their blood sugar level has been uncontrolled for months and they are now suffering from complications to the kidney. When an employee requires dialysis, it falls back to the company to subsidise the long-term costs for this, and all this just to save a few ringgit initially.

Community pharmacists are not only not trained to detect such complications, they are also not trained to perform/interpret the various health screening packages that they promote at their premises.

As we talk about value-added service, you pay a little extra at the doctor’s clinic to make sure that your blood pressure or sugar level is well controlled, otherwise you have to monitor these on your own should you purchase the medicines at the pharmacy. In other words, seeing the doctor offers peace of mind.

I urge patients to see their doctor when they collect their monthly medicines. See the difference it makes on the outlook of your condition and mental well-being.

As for employers, I urge them to have a wider outlook on the well-being of their employees. Work with your panel doctors to see how you could resolve any issues before jumping into any decisions just to save a few bucks.

Having a good relationship with your regular doctor will bring you more benefits in the long run. Do not fall into the trap of being penny wise, pound foolish.

A GENERAL PRACTITIONER Johor Baru