Due to a technical
reason that has to do with the messages’ details over the e-mail, half of last
week’s article titled “kidnapped orphan in health ministry’s orphanages” was
dropped. Most of the article was a message from the pharmacist Ragae’i Qousa
who experiences the hardships of his profession as he does with those of the
country. He also occupies other positions in the syndicate of pharmacists.
I have already written about
the secret behind my interest in his message… not because he hailed what I
wrote… but because he knows more about the secrets of his profession since his
hand is in the hot water of experience… I asked the permission of the editing
management of Almasry alyoum newspaper, especially my colleague journalist supervising
the opinion rubric, to publish the rest of Dr. Ragae’i’s message.
The message says: “We
have been calling for writing the medications’ scientific name and not the
commercial one in the prescription as the single medication has more than 15
alternatives with different prices ranging from the imported medication to the
one manufactured by an international company in Egypt and then the alternative one
produced by a local firm.
However, doctors are
keen to write the name of medications imported or fabricated by international
companies to make use of the gifts, conferences and trips they receive from
these companies. Do you know, Sir that some gifts may reach to be the latest
modern cars and overseas trips including travelling tickets and residence in
7-star hotels for the big-name doctors… to the extent that some local companies
have started in turn presenting sums of money for the young doctors to face
such thing?
And so, the patient
became chased by the big-name doctors and even the young ones in government
hospitals and village health units. All this money spent is definitely added by
the companies over the medications’ prices and paid by the patient out of his
very limited income. Also, such added cost severely affects or rather destroys
the state economy.
The health minister
knows that. Actually, all health ministers know this fact. They know that the
medication price will decrease to less than its third if one ministerial decree
was issued obligating the doctors to write the scientific name of the
medication. It will also leave the patient free to choose the medication
according to his financial capacity… but it is in vain. As long as corruption
tyrants are taking control of the business, no good is anticipated.
Also, the medications’
prices can be way doubled in this very crucial moment of our circumstances. Moreover,
the prices can exceed 70 percent of the Egyptian people financial capacity to
find ourselves facing what is known as the medications’ famine as the problem
is not only about the rise in production cost of medications. It is rather in
the cost of overseas trips, gifts, gold pounds and internationally-branded
imported pens that doubled.
The question now arises:
will the state take sides with the Egyptian patient or will it let him down as
usual to stand with the doctors and the interests and revenues they make? I can
affirm to you that the minister will definitely choose the side of his
colleague doctors and let the Egyptian patient go to hell.
However, we believe
there are still very honest people in Egypt who stand in the face of
corruption. And although we know we are protesting against a ministry that is
filled with many corrupted characters more evil than all mafias of the world,
we still have hope in those fighters, like you, ringing warning alarms and
exposing such dirty network of bats inhabiting the country’s institutions.
Finally, I would like to
thank you and tell you that I appreciate the enlightening role you are pursuing in service of our
country”… The message ended.
And so, another aspect
of the medications’ issue in Egypt is revealed. In the same time, a very
important part of the problem’s solution is clear to all of us. With whom will
the health minister take sides? Can we face such dirty network of corruption
bats or not? Also, writing the scientific name of the medications looks very
important because it will cut the roads connecting this dirty network. I believe
it is an ethical matter. And if it is so, does our medical system still have
room for ethics?
In such regard, I will
narrate the experience I have lived in 1982 regarding this ethics’ thing. At that
time, I accompanied my late wife and mother of my children while she was
pregnant of our little daughter. This little daughter is now a distinguished
PhD student in architecture engineering. The mother used to suffer from a
severe Aortic stenosis. We were in London as we had an appointment with a very
famous Egyptian cardiologist.
We arrived at the clinic
and paid the required fees. The worldly-known doctor’s opinion was that the
mother should have abortion for fear this labor may pose a danger over her
health and life. In order to be more positive, he asked us to go to a renowned obstetrics
professor in Harley Street; the most famous of London. And so, Mrs. Love – that
was her name – agreed with the opinion of the cardiologist over the necessity
of abortion. And again, in order to be more certain, she asked we should go to a
professor specialized in such cardiology cases accompanying pregnancy. Her name
– that I will never forget – was Celia Oakley.
And so, we went and paid
the required big sum of money as we did with the last two doctors. During the
conversation running between the doctor and the patient, she asked her about
some information that was not listed in the form we filled prior to our entry. She
asked her if she was Muslim or not. When the patient answered confirming she
was, the doctor continued: “I believe Islam, like Catholicism, prohibits abortion”.
The questions continued
and the doctor knew her patient was a doctor as well. Then, she said
decisively: “you say you are a doctor… Haven’t you learnt in your country that
the doctor does not pay money for his colleague doctor?”. Afterwards, she pressed
over a button and her administrative assistant came. She ordered him to give
back the money he received from the patient. Then, she asked to see the case
over an x-ray machine. Finally, she said: “the case is difficult, but you can
continue your labor under medical supervision”.
She then wrote a
recommendation for two doctors in Dubai – as we were living at that time in the
United Arab Emirates – to supervise the case until she delivers. The surprise
was that the mother felt labor pains and had to give birth to her baby at home.
She did it alone with the aid of our elder daughter that was then 5 years old. I
carried both the mother and baby to the hospital. The English doctor; Mr.
Saton, was astonished. He swore it is impossible for a chronic severe Aortic
stenosis case to give birth without help.
The story is long indeed
but here I stop at the ethics’ part in “Haven’t you learnt in your country that
the doctor does not pay money for his colleague doctor?”… That is what Celia
Oakley did.
As to our doctors in
Egypt, especially the big names of them, I would like to ask: is it likely that
you can let away your interests with the pharmaceutical companies… for God
sake?... and for our country sake?
Translated into English by: Dalia Elnaggar
Translated into English by: Dalia Elnaggar
This
article was published in Almasry alyoum newspaper on December 28, 2016.
To
see the original article, go to:
#almasry_alyoum
#ahmed_elgammal #Egypt #medications
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