# \[e-drug\] Prescribing and dispensing in one hand? (2)

**URL:** <https://talk.edrugplus.org/t/e-drug-prescribing-and-dispensing-in-one-hand-2/29767>\
**Category:** e-drug\
**Created:** [April 21, 2008, 5:12pm UTC](https://talk.edrugplus.org/t/e-drug-prescribing-and-dispensing-in-one-hand-2/29767 "2008-04-21T17:12:12Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Vijay\_Thawani](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/47e85d/32.png) [@Vijay\_Thawani](https://talk.edrugplus.org/u/Vijay_Thawani)\
**Post date:** [April 21, 2008, 5:12pm UTC](https://talk.edrugplus.org/t/e-drug-prescribing-and-dispensing-in-one-hand-2/29767/1 "2008-04-21T17:12:12Z")

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E-DRUG: Prescribing and dispensing in one hand? (2)  
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Hi,

In India we have reversal of the roles too. We have prescribing pharmacists in plenty as well as dispensing doctors practicing!

Don't consultant doctors who give medicine samples to patients fall in dispensing doctors category?

Dr Vijay Thawani  
Associate Professor in Pharmacology  
Govt. Medical College, Nagpur, India.  
E-mail: vijaythawani@rediffmail.com

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**Author:** ![Dr\_J.W.F\_van\_Mil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85e7bf/32.png) [@Dr\_J.W.F\_van\_Mil](https://talk.edrugplus.org/u/Dr_J.W.F_van_Mil)\
**Post date:** [April 22, 2008, 6:40am UTC](https://talk.edrugplus.org/t/e-drug-prescribing-and-dispensing-in-one-hand-2/29767/2 "2008-04-22T06:40:32Z")

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E-DRUG: Prescribing and dispensing in one hand? (7)  
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The dispensing doctors issue is/was a hot topic in the FIP community  
pharmacy section of FIP. I think that the previous professional secretary  
still has all information.

If I remember well, in Europe at that time we identified Norway, Sweden,  
Switzerland, Scotland and the Netherlands as countries where you could find  
dispensing doctors. In Norway, Sweden, Scotland and the Netherlands this was  
a practice in remote areas. In Switzerland doctors were (and still are) a  
direct competitor of pharmacies. As far as I know, none of these medical  
doctors have a pharmacy degree.

There should be no discussion about the fact that such situations  
(dispensing doctors or doctoring pharmacists) should only be allowed in  
emergency situations. Doctors & pharmacists are human beings too, and  
doctoring + dispensing does (too) easily lead to unethical practices,  
medication errors and overconsumption of medicines.

It would therefore be wise to create a law that even where someone has both  
a pharmacy as well as medical degree, he/she can not practice both  
professions at the same time.

Foppe van Mil, PhD  
Pharmacy Practice Consultant  
The Netherlands  
E-mail: jwfvmil@planet.nl