We can all see that even until now, there are peddlers, hawkers, illegal vendors, and other types of questionable vending found in the street sidewalks of Dumaguete. Despite a clear-cut ordinance prohibiting their presence, they are ubiquitous and unstoppable.
I guess Dumaguetnons just “look the other way”; after all, these peddlers stay under the scorching heat of the sun, criss-crossing the busy streets to earn a few bucks.
However, finding the likes of them inside air-conditioned offices of a prestigious hospital, with shining bronze nameplates on their door is something that will make “looking the other way” difficult to do.
Seeing a doctor prescribing some medicines to his patient, at the same time, dispensing/selling the medicine he has prescribed came as a complete shock to me.
Is this legally-permissible? Is it ethical? Is this covered under the Hippocratic oath of saving lives?
Perhaps, I am so naive. Perhaps, physicians of other countries customarily do it. Perhaps, it is okay as it will save the patient’s time and effort in having to go to the pharmacy.
Really? The biggest questions, however: Are the proceeds from selling medicines inside his clinic taxable? Do doctors who practice this “trade” pay their taxes? Or are they going to invoke (again) Section 139 of the Local Government Code?
And whatever happened to patients’ freedom of choice? Do patients have the option to choose whether to buy generic drugs or branded? Or the option from which pharmacy to buy these prescribed drugs? Whatever has happened to that basic right?
Sec. 25 of RA 5921 specifically stipulates that No medicine, pharmaceutical or drug whatever nature and kind or device shall be compounded, dispensed, sold or resold, or otherwise be made available to the consuming public except through a prescription drug store or hospital pharmacy duly established in accordance with the provisions of this Act.
Is the clinic of a physician also a drug store or pharmacy? If not, then clearly, these doctors have contravened RA 5921.
Likewise, the last sentence of Art. III, Sec. 5 of the Code of Ethics of the Philippine Medical Association states that A physician shall not commercially endorse any medical or health product.
The selling/dispensing of specific drugs by doctors right inside their clinics is one huge way of commercially endorsing medical products, is it not? Again, another breach.
To top it all, Art. VI, Section 1 of the aforementioned Code specifies that The physician shall not derive any form of material gain from product samples.
Of course, doctors will say they are not selling or getting any gains from product samples but then who can ever prove these drugs they have prescribed, at the same time sold to their patients are not the samples that medical reps have given them for free?
And for the sake of argument, let us say they bought these medicines themselves, why would they sell it to their patients? Who can stop them from putting mark-ups on their unsuspecting patient-customers?
Presumably, doctors will invoke the 2nd paragraph of Memo Circular No. 2015-07-15-006 which states that “…physicians (and other professionals who have passed government licensure examinations) are not required to pay business taxes for the exercise of the profession nor do they need to pay Mayor’s Permit Fees for the practice of the profession pursuant to Section 139 of the Local Government Code…”
Note the two phrases — the exercise of the profession and practice of the profession. Do these phrases cover selling of medical products/drugs right inside a doctor’s clinic?
If there is a law or any memorandum which states to this effect, then I rest my case, and I will think of something else to write about, and I will never discuss this topic ever again.
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Author’s email: legis616821@gmail.com
