
Prescribing Naked Medicines
Some people claimed that it is a business of some doctors or private clinics when they prescribe drug without its label or wrapper to their patients. This article will discuss both advantages and disadvantages of doing so.
Actually, what has claimed above is truly existed in the Cambodian society, but this does not mean that all the doctors and private clinics in Cambodia commit to such action. Most of people have claimed that some doctors have taken the prescribed medicines out of their wrappers before selling them to the patients in order to prevent their patients from knowing what are those medicines and buying those medicines at the nearby pharmacies instead. Therefore, once the patients run out of medicines, they have to come back to the same place to buy their medicines. In some cases, if the patient was admitted into the hospital, prescribing naked medicines would have bad impacts on the patients’ benefits because they do not even know what medicines they are using, moreover, doctors can not recognize the medicines without their appearances. Another concern of the patients is the quality of the medicines since there is no shell to cover or protect them. The medicines can easily expose to the heat, water, or air that can cause damage or affect to their qualities. Sometimes, this accidentally caused by the patients or they did not keep their medicines properly in a safe place, so their medicines can be damaged since there is no shell to cover them.
However, taking medicines out of their wrapper before selling to the patients also provides some advantages as well. Cambodia is one of the developing countries in Southeast Asia, and the health education in this country is not widely spread. People have limited knowledge about medicine and health. Therefore, it could be a good way to selling medicines without their covers to the patients. This is because of some medicines prescribed by the doctors might contain some antibiotics, and one of the most concern regarding to this type of medicine is the antibiotics resistance. It happens if the patients do not use this medicine properly according to the prescription from the doctors. So it could be a good way to prevent antibiotics resistance and in order to keep track with the patients’ conditions as well. Time and Financial conditions should be taking into consideration when we are discussing about health or doctor-patient problem. Some patients in Cambodia rarely visit their doctors again if their diseases recurs. They mostly just bring their prescription or the wrappers of their medicines which doctors have prescribed for them from last time as a reference to the nearby pharmacies to buy the exact medicines or buy some over-the-counter drugs for self-medication. It is a great significant to visit the doctors before using any medicines because drug can both help and hurt us at the same time. Therefore, let the doctor diagnose your disease and evaluate your medications again before using them.
The purpose of this article aims to raise awareness of the drug usage and share a little knowledge regarding to doctor-patient problem. This does not mean that this article is trying to encourage the doctors and private clinic in Cambodia to sell drug without its cover or label to their patient, but to be aware that it could be dangerous to continue using drug without going through doctor’s examination first.
