Pharmacy Council to hear cold medicine case

The council’s ethics committee will soon hear the case of the unnamed 40-year-old official, who is accused of forging reports that 65,000 tablets of pseudoephedrine-based medicine, contained in 130 bottles, had been delivered to a health-promoting hospital at tambon level, when in fact he had sold them.

She said the official’s conduct was a violation of professional ethics, but did not give details of the penalties he would be subject to, or whether the case could result in revocation of his pharmacist’s license. 

She did not give a date for when the Pharmacy Council would start hearing the case.

“The case has brought the pharmacists’ profession into disrepute. The acts were conducted contrary to the models of a pharmacist’s role and ethics, and clearly in violation of the law,” she said.

Pseudoephedrine is a cheap and effective drug used to treat basic colds and fever. Formerly sold over the counter, it was recently made a prescription item and can be distributed internally only within government hospitals. Pseudoephe-drine-based medicines are to be upgraded to a Type 2 addictive substance, which would make it more difficult to acquire or obtain.

She called on police and government hospital staff to strictly monitor use of pseudoephedrine or any medicine of which it is an ingredient, now that it has been made a prescription item.

Public Health Minister Witthaya Buranasiri said a similar case at an Uttaradit hospital would today be lodged with local police. 

He added that it would be up to police whether to expand their investigation from the current cases to other hospitals.

He said government hospitals would be instructed to check their inventories of pseudoephedrine-based medicines. They would also be ordered to look into purchase orders of suspiciously high volumes, which could prompt police investigations.