26 October 2005
BFAD: It’s gov’t docs in the suspected list
NOW, it’s out, partially at least, from the BFAD’s mouth.
An official of the Bureau of Food and Drug (BFD) of the Department of Health tagged some government doctors as the ones patronizing fake and or counterfeit medicines coming from dubious sources.
Reynaldo Jacinto, chief of the regulations and enforcement division of the BFAD in Region I, said the government physicians source out, prescribe and dispense the fake and or counterfeit medicines to their patients.
Jacinto said these doctors are currently employed in government hospitals not only in Pangasinan but also in the entire Ilocos Region.
He stopped short of naming the doctors concerned.
Some of the hospitals where these erring doctors are allegedly working are the Region I Medical Center in Dagupan, Pangasinan Provincial Hospital in San Carlos City, Western Pangasinan District Hospital in Alaminos City and the Don Amadeo Perez Memorial District Hospital in Urdaneta City.
The BFAD had been actively operating in the province of Pangasinan for months due to reports that the province is a dumping ground for fake and counterfeit medicines coming from other regions, including Metro Manila.
Jacinto was invited by Provincial Board Member Dionisio Villar during the question hour of the provincial board to know from him names of the doctors supposedly directly dealing with manufacturers and distributors of fake and or counterfeit medicines.
Also invited were the chiefs of these government hospitals where the alleged erring doctors work.
Villar said Jacinto should name names because if he does not, all doctors in the four government hospitals in Pangasinan that he mentioned are suspects. “He should name names, otherwise all his revelations are nothing if those who violated the law are not prosecuted,” he said.
Observers said these doctors can also be cited for malpractice if they are found to be prescribing and dispensing fake and or counterfeit medicines.
Jacinto said it is mostly to out-patients that the fake and or counterfeit medicines are being prescribed and dispensed by these doctors for them to earn money and boost their usually meager take-home pay.
He said that under the country’s Generics Law that was passed when Alfredo Bengzon was still secretary of health, doctors can only prescribe medicines and not dispense them.
An official of the Bureau of Food and Drug (BFD) of the Department of Health tagged some government doctors as the ones patronizing fake and or counterfeit medicines coming from dubious sources.
Reynaldo Jacinto, chief of the regulations and enforcement division of the BFAD in Region I, said the government physicians source out, prescribe and dispense the fake and or counterfeit medicines to their patients.
Jacinto said these doctors are currently employed in government hospitals not only in Pangasinan but also in the entire Ilocos Region.
He stopped short of naming the doctors concerned.
Some of the hospitals where these erring doctors are allegedly working are the Region I Medical Center in Dagupan, Pangasinan Provincial Hospital in San Carlos City, Western Pangasinan District Hospital in Alaminos City and the Don Amadeo Perez Memorial District Hospital in Urdaneta City.
The BFAD had been actively operating in the province of Pangasinan for months due to reports that the province is a dumping ground for fake and counterfeit medicines coming from other regions, including Metro Manila.
Jacinto was invited by Provincial Board Member Dionisio Villar during the question hour of the provincial board to know from him names of the doctors supposedly directly dealing with manufacturers and distributors of fake and or counterfeit medicines.
Also invited were the chiefs of these government hospitals where the alleged erring doctors work.
Villar said Jacinto should name names because if he does not, all doctors in the four government hospitals in Pangasinan that he mentioned are suspects. “He should name names, otherwise all his revelations are nothing if those who violated the law are not prosecuted,” he said.
Observers said these doctors can also be cited for malpractice if they are found to be prescribing and dispensing fake and or counterfeit medicines.
Jacinto said it is mostly to out-patients that the fake and or counterfeit medicines are being prescribed and dispensed by these doctors for them to earn money and boost their usually meager take-home pay.
He said that under the country’s Generics Law that was passed when Alfredo Bengzon was still secretary of health, doctors can only prescribe medicines and not dispense them.
