Hasalaka doctor's unusual prescription

Doctor who writes bottle numbers at his pharmacy....  on the prescription

Central Health Authorities have raided a racket operated by a doctor. A doctor who issues prescriptions to his patients has asked them to buy the medicine from outside and instead of the name of the medicine concerned, a number has been
indicated on the relevant bottle and had thus made the patients purchase the medicine from this private pharmacy which he himself operates.

This racket has been going on for sometime by a doctor named M.B. Paranagama who is engaged in a rural hospital in Hasalaka. He also operates a private pharmacy in that town and when prescribing medicines, he has instructed the patients who come to that government hospital to buy them from that pharmacy when medicine is freely available in that hospital itself which activity he had been conducting as a matter of custom. He had been maintaining a laboratory too in the vicinity of the pharmacy and he had been sending his patients there too in an illegal way.

The dispenser who had been engaged at his pharmacy and laboratory was a female who had no training at all. She has had no knowledge to serve the patients or any capability in that direction when the doctor is not present. Because of this situation the number on the bottle of medicine concerned has been indicated on the prescription issued by this doctor for purchase at his pharmacy what this girl used to do was issue medicine from the bottle for which the number is given. It was only from his pharmacy that one could buy medicine from such a prescription.

Patients have been thoroughly disappointed as they have been unable to purchase medicine from the prescription issued by this doctor from any other pharmacy.

At the time the Central Province Health Officers raided this pharmacy, it was confirmed that the said pharmacy and laboratory were being conducted without a license and without any standard. Further, it has been revealed that issuing medicine to patients by a doctor to purchase medicine by indicating the code number is a procedure outside the rule and is not in conformity with the code of ethics.

It has been exposed by complaints of patients that this doctor has conducted himself in a manner that patients who visited Hasalaka Hospital has had to make a visit to his laboratory or purchase medicine in an illegal manner unnecessarily, continuously.

It was also reported that medicines expected to be issued to patients by the government had to be bought at exorbitant prices from this pharmacy.

This raid was conducted by Messrs.P.W. Rajapaksha and E.P. Edirisingha, Inspectors of  Food and Drugs Authority after taking into consideration a large number of complaints received.

Action has been taken to produce the doctor and the female worker before Mahiyangana Magistrate.