LIKE TOO MANY Barbadians over 50, I live with a chronic non-communicable illness for which I need to take a prescription drug each day.
Prior to April 1 and the changes to the drug formulary and the Barbados Drug Service (BDS), the medication I took was readily available and free at the private pharmacy I go to.
I now pay for my drugs. On April 26, I paid $25.98 for a 30-day supply, but on May 26 the same number of tablets for the same medication cost $31.61.
Obviously, I queried the price hike. I was told by my pharmacist that my medication was no longer on the formulary and I would have to bear the full costs for it, and it will most likely continue to increase depending on availability and the demand for the drug.
I was told if I wanted a less expensive and more reliable option, I would have to get a prescription for a drug on the formulary, and then get it from a Government pharmacy.
I would not want to change my medication because I have no side effects from what I use. Plus, my medication not only helps in the management of my condition but also has a preventative component.
I would need to get two separate drugs to do what the one is doing right now.
I therefore understand the concerns of those who have been complaining about the changes to the BDS and the formulary on the radio call-in programmes and in our newspapers. I’m in the same boat as they are.
My costs are, of course, small in comparison to some of those I have been hearing of, like the pensioner who says he has to pay nearly $90 a month for his medication from the monthly National Insurance Scheme non-contributory pension of $532 he receives – which is his only income.
My concern is not so much the cost involved.
I recognize, as in the case of this man, that the price being paid represents a substantial burden. But it must be said that the BDS was that 300-pound gorilla in the room that needed to be dealt with if this entity was to have a sustainable future.
Based on the outcry, one wonders if members of the public were properly prepared for the adjustments they would have to make as a result of the changes to the formulary and the BDS.
Also, based on the numbers that now goto the Government pharmacies and the delays they encounter, did the Ministry of Health equip these entities sufficiently to handle this load?
Based on the complaints we hear on the radio and what was revealed in this week’s SUNDAY SUN investigative piece, when our reporters went into various Government pharmacies, it is clear that whatever work was done in anticipation of the April 1 changes did not prepare the public sufficiently.
That said, change is usually a challenge, and though information is put out there to prepare people, they often only realize the effect of a new policy when its effects begin to impact them.
Another probable reason there has been such an outcry to these changes is because of the environment in which they come. That is, they take place against a backdrop of an increase in the cost of living with higher food and petroleum prices, utilities costs, and more.
So having to pay for medication on top of that or having to change to new medication and stay in long lines to get it would only make people angry.
This is just my take on it. This evening the experts will have their say at St Leonard’s Boys’ Secondary School’s new auditorium and I would like to encourage as many of you as possible to come out and hear them.
At 7:30 p.m. The Rising Cost Of Health Care will be the topic for discussion with Minister of Health Donville Inniss, BDS director Maryam Hinds, pharmacist Bandale Serrano and doctors Colin Alert and Alfred Sparman as the panellist.
I’m encouraging all of you who have questions to bring your prescriptions/drugs and come to this meeting because it is meant to be a chance where you can interact with the experts and get them to not only explain their policy, but discuss the benefits of the new medication you use and the side effects you may be concerned about.
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