The skyrocketing price hike in medicines has affected the poor patients badly, making their lives miserable. Country’s general people are bearing the brunt of price hike of all essentials alongside reeling under unprecedented economic crises. So, the unprecedented drug price hike that hit the poor cluster of the society and middle income families hard as well is not acceptable at all.
There are more than 26,000 medicine items in the market, but the Drug Administration fixes the prices of only 117 essential items. If the pharmaceutical companies want to increase the prices of those 117 lifesaving drugs, they must take approval from the government to do so, according to media reports.
Country’s people have been paying over two-thirds of their treatment cost out of their own pockets, according to a study. The rate of out-of-pocket expenditure in the country is quite high compared to the world perspective.
Pharmaceutical companies say the price hike of raw materials and increase in expenditure and other costs force them to increase the prices of their products while the medicine shop owners claim they have nothing to do when pharmaceutical companies increase prices at their sweet will. But, either the pharmaceutical companies or the medicine shop owners understand the patients’ sufferings and their relatives’ pain caused by uncontrolled medicine price hike.
Many poor patients suffering from serious diseases have been depriving of medicines since long as they can not afford skyrocketing medicine price. Bangladesh has high prevalence of non-communicable, communicable and viral disease such as cardiovascular ailments, diabetes and hypertension.
The government should
strictly monitor the medicine
market to control prices of
essential drugs at first
As many people suffer from these common health issues, it is very difficult for them to purchase medicines because of high price. So, many people are now avoiding medical procedures and tests due to expensive medication.
The price hike in medicines has also encouraged the organised counterfeiting gangs in different places of the country to manufacture various sophisticated and life saving copies of the bestselling medicines. The government should strictly monitor the medicine market to control prices of essential drugs at first. If medicine shop owners extract additional price, they should be brought to book and put on trial. Apart from this, the government also will have to launch a crackdown on counterfeiting gangs involved in copying and manufacturing medicines immediately.
Considering the overall situation, we think the government hospitals and community clinics can play key role in providing primary healthcare services some medicines free of cost to the rural people. If the government procures drugs, it will ensure quality as well as a competitive price.
Simultaneously, the affluent people of the society and businessmen should extend their all out supports to the poor patients to get essential medicines. The physicians must refrain from prescribing unnecessary drugs for commission and they should give patient hearing to the people who suffer from various diseases in this regard.
They government has built community hospitals across the country to reach primary healthcare services to every people’s doorstep. Besides, the community centres are distributing 30 types of medicines free of cost.
But, if the government does not take immediate step to halt the prices of life-saving drugs, it would be very difficult to provide proper treatment to the poor patients.
