Best Posts in Thread: Prescription medicines

In a generic pharmacy I asked for Amoxicillin. Sorry Sir, only on prescription. I went to a pharmacy near the market , generic or branded Sir? No talk about prescription.????

 

Mercury drug on the north highway was the last and preferred place for me to get medicines and I never needed a prescription but it has been a year and things may have changed.

I had tried Rose Pharmacy across the street from the public market but I got sticker shocked on the prices.

 

Agree with all of the above. Depends...as a practising Doc both in the UK and in the ME I have been both alarmed, bemused and delighted by prescribing practices here in the Phils. I guess this depends on the nature/type of chronic condition you are managing - there's a heap of discrepancy depending on the condition and the doc you are consulting. Mostly, I have been super impressed. Though some docs seem to not see the long nose as they are seeing the poverty stricken Filipino day to day who can't afford. So they tend to go for the older, cheaper and sometimes less effective compounds of meds. I guess you need to be in Manila to get the cutting edge in prescribing - though as mentioned I have been delighted with virtually all Docs here doing their level best with all the chips stacked against them.

I had one in my speciality that went ballistic at me for suggesting a more modern compound as it was not affordable to the patients family. Even though I knew it would be more effective. I had to eat humble pie on that one, but then allowed myself a quiet chuckle as he was overheard bragging that he had had success as a Doc from the UK had suggested it 6 months ago. And wasn't it a success di ba. I have my spies everywhere.

My thought would be do your research both in the Phils and home thoroughly as others have suggested, where there is a will there is often a way. Have a chat with your Specialist/GP at home. Ask him, if he were forced to write a less costly script that was just as effective, what drug would it be? I'll bet you are getting the brand at home when the generic (once or if the patent has run out) is just effective. Are there lifestyle changes you know you should get around to making that you haven't yet that would make the condition easier to manage? And so on. Having a chronic condition shouldn't be a barrier to you living in the Phils. Good luck.

C