Govt ban on prescription revoked
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State and private hospitals will be allowed to prescribe pseudoephedrine-based medication after Dr Paijit Warachit, permanent secretary of the Public Health Ministry, signed a directive revoking the ban yesterday.
However, Paijit said every prescription should include relevant details such as the number of tablets, the patient’s and doctor’s names, and the hospital where the medication is stored or dispensed from. At present, state hospitals have a total of 20 million pseudoephedrine tables in storage.
He also said all hospitals needed first to use up the tablets in their inventory before ordering new supplies. The ministry has set up a registration system at certain state hospitals where tablets have allegedly gone missing, while the Food and Drugs Administration and Department of Health Service Support are expected to do the same with private hospitals and clinics, he said.
The Public Health Ministry earlier issued a directive advising hospitals and clinics that did not wish to store pseudoephedrine-based pills to return them to the manufacturer. However, those who choose to include these tablets in their inventory need to register the number as well as the potency of the medication with the FDA. Violators will be subject to five years in prison and/or a fine of up to Bt100,000.
A senior pharmacist at Udon Thani General Hospital, who is suspected of having stolen more than 7.2 million tablets over the past three years and has been on the run since the pseudoephedrine scandal surfaced, was dishonourably discharged yesterday.
Somchai sae-Khwo’s pharmacy has been closed and put up for sale. His expulsion is initially based on his being absent for 15 days without permission before other actions can be taken against him, said Udon Thani Governor Kanphet Chuangrangsee, who signed the expulsion order.
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives panel on public health will release the list of government and private hospitals where pseudoephedrine-based tablets have gone missing and summon those involved to testify next week, panel member Democrat MP Witthaya Kaewparadai said.
“There are 35 million pseudoephedrine tablets imported annually and the panel’s report will provide details about the hospitals where the tablets went missing,” he said yesterday.
Witthaya, who was a public health minister during the Democrat-led government, also called for ministry officials to be fair in their scrutiny, adding that the director of Kamalasai Hospital in Kalasin was transferred away during the probe while the director of Udon Thani General Hospital got to stay on.
