A large quantity of medicinal products, still sealed, are returned to the health authorities by members of the public out of goodwill in the belief that such medicine could be used by patients requiring treatment. However, as Health Minister Joseph Cassar pointed out the other day, these could not be redistributed because one cannot be sure how they were stored at home.
The fact that a substantial number of people felt the responsibility to return free medicine, which, for some reason, they did not use, thinking that other people would be able to benefit from them is, of course, encouraging. It confirms that, in spite of all the shortcomings that may exist in society, there are still many citizens who have a deeply rooted social awareness and sense of solidarity.
So the minister’s announcement that the medicine such people return is lost just the same must be a big disappointment to such citizens, especially if they had to go out of their way to give back the unused medicine.
What is truly worrying is why so much medicine – it is thought the products actually returned only represent a fraction of unused medicine stockpiled unnecessarily by people at home – is ending up down the drain.
It is abundantly clear that that the system is not functioning well enough and that, management-wise, there is something wrong or missing because people should only get the medicine for which they have a prescription.
What is happening? Is it a case of patients being prescribed more medicine than they really need or consume? Could it be that certain patients are prescribed a particular medicine that is then found not suitable for their individual medical circumstances due to composition or side effects?
What kind of mechanism is in place to ensure that if a patient is advised to reduce the intake of medicine or to stop having it this is referred immediately to the authorities concerned?
What are the health authorities doing to ensure that people are regularly well-informed about their rights and duties and the responsibility to only take the medicine that they actually need?
One problem, identified by Dr Cassar himself, appears to be fear among patients that if they did not pick up all the free medicine they are entitled to they would lose their entitlement under schedule 5, the so-called yellow card, although this is not the case. What kind of education campaign is in place − assuming there is − to address and change this apparently widely diffused false perception?
The list of free medicine now includes 1,334 products. Some €69 million are spent on free medicine every year, an average of €170 per person. In such circumstances, would it not make sense to provide the people with an easily accessible reference point when in difficulty about what to do when in possession of unused medicine and how to cooperate fully in the efforts to avoid having so much medicine being lost?
Dr Cassar’s initiative to urge the people to act responsibly and to keep in mind that free medicine is, in fact, an investment by the state was a good step. He needs everyone’s support to take the matter further.
The present chronic malady of waste in free medicine needs a holistic and effective cure as fast as possible. Solid and efficient action is required, aimed at identifying and putting in place all possible corrective measures while also roping in the active cooperation of professionals and patients alike.