PETALING JAYA: Pharmacists are protesting against a link in the government’s MySejahtera app to a private e-commerce company selling Covid-19 self-test kits.
The Malaysian Pharmacists Society also questioned the legality of the site’s name and said the online sale of self-test kits poses various risks, including inaccurate results.
The society raised its concerns in a letter to Norhaliza Halim, senior director of pharmaceutical services at the health ministry.
MPS president Amrahi Buang said the society was “utterly disappointed” and “outraged” that the MySejahtera mobile application had been linked to Pharma2u, an e-commerce platform which sells Covid-19 self-testing kits.
“The direct selling of Covid-19 self-testing kits without proper guidance and education from pharmacists will heighten the risk of inaccurate test results due to lack of clarification and counselling in handling the tests,” he said in the letter, which was posted on MPS’ Facebook page.
“This will also risk cross-contamination and under-reporting of test results via the MySejahtera application due to poor handling techniques,” he said.
Improper disposal of test kits would also be a danger to the environment and increase the risk of Covid-19 transmission, he added.
Amrahi also noted that Pharma2u was not a company under the control and management of a registered pharmacist and the use of the word “Pharma” in its name was in contravention of the Registration of Pharmacists Act 1951.
The law forbids companies from using any term containing “pharma” as it will confuse members of the public.
Amrahi said MPS was “utterly disappointed” at the addition of the e-commerce platform to the MySejahtera application, saying it contravenes various clauses in the ministry’s Covid-19 management guidelines.
Under these clauses, only licensed community pharmacy premises, or approved healthcare facilities, are allowed to sell Covid-19 self testing kits.
He also said the society was “outraged” with the unfair advantage given to Pharma2u in the dominant position in the MySejahtera application over community pharmacies.
The MySejahtera application should instead include maps to guide the public to the nearest community pharmacy to get their self-test kits, he said.
A check on the MySejahtera app found that a new feature called “Covid-19 Self Test” has been added.
Users are shown links to test kits of three different brands – Salixium, Gmate and JusCheck – and an option for bulk and corporate orders. All links for buying the kits lead to the Pharma2u website at https://www.pharma2u.co/
Online sales temporarily not available
However, the website now displays a notice in Bahasa Malaysia and English saying that the test kits are temporarily not available for online sale.
The notice says the merchants for these kits were “working with the relevant authorities on ensuring they are available as soon as possible” and advised those who need test kits urgently to buy them from community pharmacies and health facilities.
Health Minister Dr Adham Baba had previously said that the three test kits listed on MySejahtera had received conditional approval from the Medical Device Authority.
FMT has sought comment from Pharma2u and the health ministry. - FMT
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