E-drug: Micropharmacies - GSD labelling
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Scott Hillstrom's message about Cry For the World's micro-pharmacy
project in Kenya is interesting.
"The franchise model includes rules that CHWs (Community Health
Workers) must follow (diagnostic, treatment, drug handling, etc.) as
a condition of maintaining their valuable business opportunity and,
therefore, causes CHWs to self-regulate."
I am wondering if these rules include labelling of the medicines, and
especially if the rules demand GSD labelling.
The FIP (International Pharmaceutical Federation) Working Group on
Labelling has proposed recommendations for labelling of prescribed
medicines. Hopefully these recommendations will be formally issued at
the next FIP congress September 2001. These recommendations recommend
a standard for Good Labelling of Prescribed Medicine. But in addition
a minimum level of labelling (GSD) is stated.
GSD (Generic name, Strength, individual Dosage instruction) is the
absolute minimum labelling of prescribed medicines that makes sense.
Both prescribing and dispensing are situations filled with
information, and it is not easy for the patient to sort out the
elements that are most important. The patient usually needs to repeat
parts of it after getting home. Without GSD it is not possible for
the patient (or other persons in the family or neighbourhood) to
check the most central information about the medicine.
It is not only in poor countries that the GSD concept ought to be
discussed. Germany is an example of a rich and developed country that
usually not puts the individual dosage instructions on the label of
prescribed medicine.
Stein Lyftingsmo
Hospital Pharmacy of Elverum
N-2418 Elverum, Norway
phone +47-6243 8950
sjappe@apotek.no
[I also wonder what safeguards are in place to ensure that the CHWs
don't favour those who can pay, over those who can't, and what
systems for record keeping are in place to facilitate supervision of
prescribing practices, tracking trends in the target diseases, etc.
BS]
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