The prescription fraud has deeply upset many people, former Minister of Health Dr Filiz Besim (CTP) said in her address to the Assembly, Yeniduzen reports.
“We should know that 360 pharmacies, 980 physicians and 380 dentists are working in this country and we should protect all our physicians and pharmacists who work with ethical values”, she said.
Dr Besim stated that the main priority is “the measures that the government should take urgently and the auditable system that the government should establish in order for patients to have easy access to physicians and medicines“.
She outlined what steps should be taken to protect patients as follows:
- Patients should have long-term and easy access to medicines in public hospitals and health centres.
- There should be medicines in hospitals.
- Medicines should be given to chronic patients for 3-6 month periods according to the recommendations of their doctors.
- Insured patients should be able to buy medicines prescribed in public hospitals and when not available in the hospital pharmacy from private pharmacies.
- Pharmaceutical outpatient clinics should be increased, especially for chronic patients, and patients should not wait in queues to prescribe medicines.
- The drug tracking system should be established urgently to include private pharmacies.
Dr Besim went on to say that the General Health Insurance system needing revising.
The former health minister stated that in the last four years of UBP governments, they had not discussed the system, but the lack of medicine, unfinished hospitals, almost zero preventive health services and the patient’s ability to access the doctor and examinations.
She also drew attention to the increase in tuberculosis cases due to the uncontrolled population flow to the TRNC in recent years.
Dr Besim concluded her speech as follows: “We should know that without a population policy, without knowing our population, without controlling illegal workers and university life, we can neither establish a proper health system nor protect ourselves from diseases. We cannot provide medicine, hospitals and laboratories for our patients”.
Yeniduzen
