The recent heated argument between doctors and pharmacists on the functional separation of the two professions has aroused a great deal of interest among the public. Dr Gabriel Choi Kin's exposure of the notorious professional practices of local pharmacies is the tip of the iceberg.
Practically any individual can obtain controlled medicines from most pharmacies without much problem. Prescriptions can usually be repeated without permission from doctors. With these dangerous practices just being routine in pharmacies here, the current practice of obtaining drugs from doctor's clinics should not be changed.
The long-term goal, of course, is to completely separate the functions of the medical and pharmacy professions. This has the advantage of instituting checks and balances as well as ensuring proper dispensing.
Nevertheless, the lack of qualified pharmacists and gross deficiencies in monitoring pharmacies, makes such a move unrealistic.
I hope our pharmacists will look at their own deficiencies and rectify them before challenging the current dispensing practice that has been in effect for many years.
Y K LEUNG Kowloon