Include us in advisory council, pharmacists urge KJ

 

A large chunk of healthcare expenditure goes on medicines, says the pharmacists’ society.

PETALING JAYA: Pharmacists have appealed to health minister Khairy Jamaluddin to include them in an advisory council formed to plan a national health policy paper.

Amrahi Buang, president of the Malaysian Pharmacists Society said the society was disappointed that the 13-member council announced by the minister did not include pharmacy experts.

The lack of such experts might result in the council not being “holistic, comprehensive and inclusive” as promised by Khairy, he said.

From a patients’ perspective, a huge chunk of their healthcare expenditure is on medicines. “Therefore, for the health white paper to gain bipartisan support, medicine experts (i.e. pharmacists) must be invited to the table,” he said.

Amrahi said the society had held discussions on the white paper as early as July and had set out five proposed reforms which had been submitted to the ministry. - FMT