Health authorities inspect a clinic found flouting prescription regulations.

Health officials in Ho Chi Minh City will inspect local clinics to ensure patients are not being overcharged for medicines.

New procedures will also help control the types of medicines doctors prescribe for their patients, Chau told Thanh Nien.

Thanh Nien reported this week on the practice of HCMC clinics and doctors overcharging for medicines they are not authorized to sell and writing illegible prescriptions. The story triggered an overwhelming response from readers.

Vietnam only allows doctors and clinics to provide medical check-ups and prescriptions. But many medical centers are forcing patients to buy prescribed drugs from the clinic or recommended pharmacies for higher profits or commissions.

A common method is to write illegible prescriptions so patients have no choice but to purchase their medicine at recommended outlets.

Initially, the health watchdog will request all clinics in the city to comply with all prescription regulations, including using clear handwriting, Chau said.

Phan Van Nghiem, head of the department’s Medical Practice Ward, said the department would launch inspections of public and private health clinics and withdraw the licenses of those found in breach of the regulations.

Chau admitted that illegal medical practices by doctors, such as selling drugs to patients, were widespread in HCMC.

“Previously up to 99 percent of the city’s clinics sold drugs to patients but now the number has dropped to 70 to 80 percent,” he said.

Ha Hao Hiep, Deputy Chief Inspector of the Ministry of Health, told Thanh Nien the sale of medicines by clinics and doctors was common in other localities in Vietnam.

The practice harms the economy as well as the patients as the selling price and quality of such medicines can’t be controlled, Hiep said.

He said many clinics even tear packages and remove labels from medicines so patients and pharmacies can’t tell what the drug is or check the expiry date.

At a recent Good Pharmacy Practice conference in Hanoi, Deputy Health Minister Cao Minh Quang said he had seen prescriptions written with abbreviations so no one could guess what diseases the patient was suffering.

In such cases, if patients did not buy the drugs at the clinics or recommended pharmacies, they could get into trouble by taking the wrong medicines, he said.

If patients agreed to buy drugs at the recommended sellers, they were usually overcharged as the price included a commission for the prescribing doctor, Quang said.

Quang urged local health agencies to step up surveillance of medical practices and penalize infringers with heavy fines and permit withdrawal.

Reported by Thanh Tung – Lien Chau