BALKH (SW) – At the peak of heightened concerns about the challenging economic situation, the writing of medical prescriptions in encrypted ways has drawn criticism from a number of Balkh residents.
Residents of Balkh express concerns, saying that some doctors write prescriptions in a manner that other pharmacists find unreadable. They tell Salam Watandar that these unclear prescriptions have made challenges for them instead of providing a remedy, urging officials to take measures to address this issue.
Reshad, a resident of Balkh who has the experience of receiving encrypted prescriptions, says: “We had a patient with cancer; When the doctor wrote a prescription, we could not find that medicine in any pharmacy. Only the pharmacy related to the hospital could read that. This is kind of business.”
Sayed Anwar, another resident of Balkh also says: “The government must stop this because people are struggling with a bad economic situation. Doctors in private clinics write the coded prescriptions.”
Meanwhile, pharmacists in the city of Mazar-e-Sharif, the center of Balkh, confirm the existence of coded prescriptions and say that this situation has worried patients.
Lemar, a pharmacist in Mazar-e-Sharif city, criticizes the obscure prescriptions from doctors, saying that they go against medical principles. He emphasizes the importance of clear prescriptions to prevent patients from going from one pharmacy to another. Additionally, Lemar highlights that pharmacies affiliated with specific doctors tend to charge more than the actual drug price.
However, the officials at the Public Health Department of Balkh say that they make efforts to prevent this issue.
Jawid Saraji, responsible for monitoring and investigating the implementation of health laws of the department, says that to combat the situation, multiple health centers have been identified and closed.
“According to the laws of the Ministry of Public Health, we have fined three hospitals, five examination rooms, and nearly 40 doctors who have been given coded prescriptions,” he added.
