Thursday, 26 October 2023
Patients are struggling to find doctors to prescribe their medications due to the ongoing investigation into prescription fraud, Kibris Postasi reports. As a result, they are having to pay full price for their medicines as physicians are reluctant to write prescriptions without seeing the patient.
Since the special police team initiated the investigation into prescription fraud on September 13, a total of 50 people, including 16 doctors, 25 pharmacists, 3 pharmacy employees, and 6 other individuals, have been arrested.
According to pharmacists interviewed by Kibris Postasi, pharmacies are now being asked for upfront payments by pharmaceutical suppliers. Payment issues in pharmacies are causing delays in the delivery of medications.
Due to some doctors have given up writing insurance prescriptions, patients are forced to purchase their medications at full price
The supply of medicines is already a concern, and the disruption of the drug supply chain poses further risks. The access to medications for patients is being blocked, both due to the ‘payment in full’ requirement and drug shortages.
There are reports that doctors and pharmacists are reluctant to attend clinics and pharmacies due to the ongoing investigations, and the handcuffing of doctors and pharmacists within the scope of the investigation is seen as a significant blow to the reputation of professional organisations.
Industry representatives noted that the “clean hands operation” process will leave a stain on the two professional organisations’ white coats.
Pharmacists who spoke to Kibris Postasi also posed several questions to politicians:
Aren’t politicians responsible for not providing a 4/4 control mechanism in an electronic environment?
If this case is indeed a “major scam,” what happened to the illegal tenders? What happened to KIB-TEK? Why haven’t many other issues been investigated?
If there has indeed been such a “scam,” why did the authorities wait for so long?
Aren’t politicians who have not been able to provide access to the doctor for the patient without paying the fee responsible for this warped system?
