All drug outlets are required to be under the supervision of registered pharmacists, as mandated by Republic Act 5921 or The Pharmacy Law.
“The figure does not include 625 retail outlets for non-prescription drugs and 332 Chinese drugstores, 302 drug manufacturers, 45 medical device manufacturers, 412 drug traders, and 6,044 drug distributors, which also require the presence of pharmacists when open for business,” according to an advisory signed by FDA Director General Kenneth Hartigan-Go.
The FDA said it is concerned over the recent statement of the Philippine Pharmacists Association (PPhA) and the Drugstores Association of the Philippines (DAP) warning the public about drugstores that employ “ghost pharmacists,” or absentee registered pharmacists employed by unscrupulous drugstores.
PPhA Executive Vice President Dr. Yolanda Robles said that in the Camanava (Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas, and Valenzuela) area, for example, 70 percent of drugstore owners have no pharmacists.
The FDA said “it has initiated a series of activities to address ‘ghost pharmacists’ and acute shortage of dedicated community pharmacists that have severely affected the DOH delivery of public health goods and services and health outcomes.”
It said the lack of licensed pharmacists became evident when the DOH launched the Botika ng Barangay project in early 2000.
“The FDA faces the challenge, if not the dilemma, of ensuring all Filipinos have access to essential medicines down to the farthest barangay of the country with Section 27 of the Pharmacy Law and other rules and regulations, still in effect,” Go said.
The FDA said the Pharmacy Law’s provision of requiring a licensed pharmacist for every drugstore “may be a contributory factor that limits, if not hampers, the growth and expansion of the drug retails industry given the shortage in community pharmacists.”
In order to address this, “the FDA has taken steps to review the Pharmacy Law and its rules and regulations implemented by the FDA,” Go said.
Last October, the FDA told Health Secretary Enrique Ona “that there are existing legislations that may prevent full access to essential medicines and health products in the regions.”
“FDA will undertake several consultations with stakeholders, including the legislators and the civil society, to help find the balance and the solution that would best serve the interest of the public,” Go said.
The FDA is advising consumers to buy medicine from legitimate drug outlets. It warned drugstore owners to observe the provisions of Administrative Order No. 56, or the regulation that covers the licensing of drug establishments and outlets.
source: mb.com.ph
