Pharmacy or Grocery: Necessity of Developing a National Integrated System for Medical Insurance & Information about Administration and Use of Pharmaceutical Agents

In this issue of the International Journal of Medical Reviews, Tofighi et al. [1] have a comparative study of the pricing of pharmaceutical agents in Iran in a global perspective. We saw this issue interesting, and prepared this editorial on the importance of implementation of a new national system of surveillance for pharmaceutical administration and use; which we believe is of extreme importance. An author of this paper recalls “Once I had attended a pharmacy to take some meds for my mother, and while I was in the line, I saw a villager woman with her child asking the man at the table ‘Give me some ‘Amoxiclav’ for my sinusitis.’ I thought he would ask for a doctor’s note, but he simply went to the shelves and came back with a box of co-amoxiclav and with his half-closed eyes, he asked for the price. But the woman protested ‘It is too much expensive! What about co-trimoxazole?’ And they had some debate, and finally were mutually satisfied on amoxicillin. When my order came, I gave my note to a woman at the table, and she went and brought some tablets. When I checked the contents, I found that she made a mistake by bringing diphenhydramine tablets instead of dimenhydrinate. It was very strange to me, because unlike most fellows who used to have not a well readable handwriting in their notes, my handwriting was too much clear, with every single character well noted. I told her about the mistake; but she took a look at the note and said very confidently ‘OH, the mistake is from the doctor!’”...(Read more...)