Antibiotics are prescriptions drugs.
What?
Surprise surprise surprise. *sigh*
In the Philippines, confusion on which drugs are
RX or OTC is prevalent. It is an eternal epidemic here *sigh*
The top drug categories that cause confusion and
hot debate between pharmacist and person with NO MEDICAL BACKGROUND are
maintenance drugs and antibiotics, of whether these are OTC or RX. I'll be
focusing on the latter.
Now here are some myths about antibiotics that you
might have heard from your neighbor/relative/stranger who ALL HAVE NO MEDICAL
BACKGROUND WHATSOEVER:
1) Antibiotics are treatment of choice for the common
cold
2) Antibiotics are vitamins that strengthen your
immune system
3) Antibiotics do not require prescription
4) Antibiotics pose no risk or threat whatsoever
5) One does not need to consult a doctor in order to
take antibiotics. One can choose for himself.
6) There is no wrong way of taking antibiotics. Just
take as you want.
7) It requires mefenamic acid on the side
8) It is an over-the-counter drug
9) When you tell the Pharma staff that you need an
antibiotic, they know exactly what antibiotic, brand, dosage form, dosage strength
you have in mind.
Now, I'm here to tell all of you that THESE ARE
NOT TRUE!!! Quit playing doctor!!!
Scenario 1:
Lady: I have UTI. I need Ciprofloxacin.
RPh: Do have a prescription, Mam?
Lady: Whenever I have UTI, I always take one of
this drug and it works. Just give me one piece.
RPh: We need a prescription for this medication,
Mam. The reason why your UTI is recurrent may be due to your wrong use of this
antibiotic. A physician might have to prescribe you a more potent antibiotic
because clearly you have already abused this one and it will not work anymore.
Lady: I'll just buy somewhere else.
Scenario 2
Guy: Hi, I want to buy some Azithromycin.
RPh: Do you have a prescription, Sir?
Guy: This is for sore throat, right? I just need
this because my throat is sore.
RPh: When did your throat start to hurt?
Guy: Just this morning.
RPh: -___-+
RPh: We need a prescription for this, Sir. Only a
physician would know the right type of antibiotic for your condition. We're not
even sure if you need an antibiotic, as your infection may just be a mild viral
infection. I recommend some gargle, or perhaps lukewarm water mixed with salt
first, and if the symptoms don't subside, consult a physician.
Guy: How about Amoxicillin?
RPh: It's still an antibiotic, and therefore still
requires a prescription.
Guy: Even just the 500mg
RPh: Yes, Sir.
Guy: (walks away)
Now this 3rd one is the best:
Old man: I want to buy some amoxicillin.
RPh: May I see the prescription, please?
Old man: Prescription? We don't need a
prescription for that!
RPh: Yes, we do. We need a physician's
recommendation because only they have the expertise the diagnose your condition
and have the authorization to prescribe the right medication for you.
(Oh, this next line is the best! You will hear
this everytime if you work for the “other” drugstores. This line NEVER gets
old. I mean never. It's the ultimate punch line. It just kills a part of me
everytime.)
Old man: BAKIT SA MERCURY DI NAMAN KELANGAN NG
RESETA?
RPh: They may be lenient, Sir, but it does not
mean that it's right. It's still wrong to dispense an antibiotic without a
prescription.
Then a friend of the old man passes by. The old
man calls the attention of his friend and makes fun of me to his friend.
Old man: Hey, look at this Pharmacist! He/She says
that I need a prescription for amoxicillin! Hahahahahaha!!!!
PAKSHET!! PAKSYET TALAGA!!!!
Friend of old man: It's because it's an antibiotic
(he replied rather quietly).
I'm just thankful his friend had some sense in
him.
Okay, before some mercurians gather up and rally
against me, let me show you this scenario to enlighten you of why we are now in
this predicament. I watched this scene while I was shopping in one of your
stores.
Customer: 5 pcs. Amoxicillin.
PA: Do you have a prescription?
Customer: No.
PA: Okay, next time please bring your
prescription. (and then goes on to process the transaction)
Where was the pharmacist?! Is this the right
practice? PA's can now prescribe antibiotics?? Sorry, I may not be updated.
Aren't PA's trained to ask the Pharmacist first
before dispensing an antibiotic without a prescription?? The PA didn't even
interrogate the patient! He just processed the order without so much as a care
for the risks to the patient and the license of the pharmacist. If the patient
said that he left his medication at home and needed to take one now for his
condition, sure, this case may be given consideration, but it's not up to the
PA! I mean, what are the pharmacists for? Props so you can hang their board
ceritificate up your drugstore's wall?
Although it's my first time to have witnessed this
kind of leniency myself, it isn't the first time I've heard of it. I've heard
doctors complain about it, too. Sorry if Mercury yung na-mention ko, pero
nagkataon kasi na Mercury rin ang minemention palagi ng mga customer, and it is
given dahil kayo ang nangungunang drugstore at kayo ang unang pumapasok sa utak
ni customer.
Solution to the problem: Train your PA's to ALWAYS
ask the PHARMACIST. I don't care if they have been PA's for 500 years!! Bakit,
may BS degree in Pharmacy ba sila??? If they dispense antibiotics so easily
without a prescription, it just goes to show that they actually DON'T KNOW
BETTER!
And just so Mercury wouldn't feel so lonely, this
goes to all drugstores! I'm not exactly sure about the other drugstores,
though, as I've never visited them, but if they THINK before dispensing,
instead of just blindly selling, then I commend you for being able to do what a
big chain drugstore couldn't do.
And sa mga branches na natamaan dito (Of course,
I'm not going to assume that all branches practice this way. I have Mercurian
friends, after all), please stop giving your company a bad reputation.
I just hope not all Mercury drugstores are as
lenient as the one I visited and the others the doctors that have complained to
me visited.
You know how I've said before that Pharmacists are
not to blame entirely for the predicament we are all in now? In this case, I
blame the administration for not training their PA's to ALWAYS depend on the
judgment of the Pharmacists (I know your PAs have quotas to reach, kaya benta
ang nangunguna imbis na yung alaga sa pasyente at yung tamang practice) and
your PAs na mga nagmamarunong. Kung may mga pabayang pharmacist sa inyu, yeah,
you're also to blame. Your ignorance have caused these myths to spread as
factual knowledge to unknowing consumers and now we pay the price. It is what
encourages patients to self medicate, making them believe that they can
prescribe RX drugs for themselves. Ngayon, ako pa ang tanga na pinagtawanan
dahil hiningian ko ng reseta yung customer na gusto ng amoxicillin.
Reality bites. Bah.
