Doctors in Kabul accused of colluding with pharmacists

KABUL (ToloNews): Patients and pharmacists in the capital have complained about doctors writing illegible prescriptions that can only be deciphered by certain pharmacists.

Some pharmacists say they routinely cannot distinguish the names of medicines.

These pharmacists accuse doctors of writing illegible prescriptions to collude with specific pharmacies.

“They write TG or TP, you bring that prescription everywhere and they cannot read it, except that particular pharmacy where perhaps doctors have a relationship with them,” said Noor Mohammad, a pharmacist.

“Some companies have relationships with doctors and some doctors have their own pharmacies,” said Tariq Sadat, a pharmacist.

Patients’ relatives said doctors write illegible prescriptions for pharmacies that are near to that doctor’s office.

“When I go to the pharmacy and show them the prescription, they cannot read it and finally we have found medicine from that pharmacy where they told us the address,” said Faramuz Nazari, a relative of a patient.

“The doctor writes a prescription for us, and nobody can read that without them,” said Yaar Mohammad, a relative of a patient.

The Afghanistan Medical Council said that legal action will be taken with those doctors when they write such prescriptions.

“According to the law, the Afghanistan Medical Council has the right to take disciplinary measures specified in the law and punish the doctor,” said Ahmad Shah Shokoh Mend, head of the department of professional standards and medical ethics.