‘Some doctors possibly biased towards pharmaceutical firm’

More Kuwaiti nurses soon: official

KUWAIT CITY, Jan 27: Ministry of Health is dealing with the possibility of some doctors being biased to a pharmaceutical company and not others through its decision that requires a doctor to write the scientific name of medicines and not the trade name when giving out the prescription, a practice consistence with ideal standards in this aspect, reports Al-Qabas daily.

Minister of Health, Sheikh Dr Bassel Al-Sabah, issued a decision in this regard, specifying to prescribe medicine with the approved medical claim, listed with the Department of

Registration and Control of Medicinal and Plant Medicines without applying unapproved medical interventions to patients.

Sheikh Dr Bassel indicated all experimental treatments not mentioned in the internal circular approved by the Department of Registration and Control of Medicinal and Plant Medicines are considered clinical research, and must be submitted to the Permanent Committee for Coordination of Medical and Health Research to study and agree to conduct the research in accordance with the controls and conditions governing medical research.

In his role, Assistant Undersecretary for Drug and Food Control Affairs Dr Abdullah Al-Badr affirmed that “the decision will contribute in the dispensing of drugs through internationally applicable standards and prevent the possibility of reaching agreements to promote specific medications, as there’s no difference between ‘innovative’ drug and ‘generic’ drug in terms of safety and efficacy”. He explained the scientific name of a drug is the name of the active substance in it, while the trademark is the name the manufacturer calls the medicine.

In an unrelated development, Director of Nursing Services Department at the Ministry of Health Sanaa Taqadum declared launch of the conference on “Innovation and Development in the Field of Nursing” under the auspices of the Minister of Health Dr Bassel Al-Sabah. The conference is scheduled to begin next Wednesday inside the Jumeirah Hotel at 9 am, adding it will continue for two days. In a press statement, Taqadum indicated the conference aims to increase innovative scientific development in nursing to boost professional values that greatly affect the quality of nursing and patient safety, with access to the latest developments in technology and the impact on nurses’ performance.