Prescriptions reform delayed as hurdles deter implementation

BEIRUT: An amendment to the bylaws of the National Social Security Fund is required in order to secure the proper adoption of the unified medical prescription form, the head of Beirut’s Order of Physicians said Monday.

Addressing a news conference at the headquarters of the Order, Antoine al-Boustani said that the delay in adopting the unified prescription form resulted “from the emergence of obstacles in implementation which if we don’t resolve before printing [the forms], we will end up in a crisis.”

“The patient and the order will be the scapegoats,” he added.

Under the law approved by Parliament in March 2010, the patient, pharmacist and health care provider should all have copies of the same prescription form, which would include the doctor’s name, number, and his or her registration number with the Order of Physicians.

Printed by the Order of Physicians, the new forms aim to better monitor medications and prevent their sale without a prescription from a doctor.

The prescription would also serve as a legal document for consent between the doctor and the patient when they agree to switch to generic medications, which are cheaper than original medications.

Medicines in Lebanon are among the most expensive in the region.

But Boustani said that under the bylaws of the NSSF, a pharmacist is not allowed to sell the patient a substitute for the medicine mentioned on the prescription, which effectively prevents the patient from switching to generic drugs.

“We were promised by officials that this article will be amended ... but the board of the National Social Security Fund has yet to make a decision in this regard,” Boustani said.

The NSSF would not cover the cost of the substituted medicine.

“The boards of the orders in Beirut and Tripoli urge all sides involved in the unified prescription to work together to remove all obstacles, allay all concerns and start implementing it as soon as possible,” Boustani added.

According to the Lebanese labor law, all Lebanese working in the public or private sector are entitled to public health care, along with their families. The bulk of the expenses are covered by the NSSF and a small portion by other state health care providers.

The Health Ministry pays for uninsured patients but there’s a limit for how much it can pay. The rest of the Lebanese resort to private insurance companies.

Commenting on another issue, Boustani criticized a decision made by Health Minister Wael Abu Faour earlier this month which stopped the separate payment of doctors’ fees and hospital fees.

The system was introduced to make it easier and quicker for doctors to get their fees.