Aasandha has changed prescription writing guidelines with the rollout of European standard medications.
State owned company, Aasandha Company Limited, which is tasked with managing the government's healthcare financing services to all, has updated the prescription writing guidelines regarding medicines manufactures as per European standards.
Currently Maldivian authorities are importing European standard medicines into the country in bulk, in a bid to ensure access to quality medicine for locals and to reduce the cost of medications. In the first phase, seven medications were brought in earlier in July this year.
A media official from Aasandha said that with this, changes have been brought to how prescription are written.
This includes doctors now being required to write the generic name of the medication instead of specific brand names. Any specific brand requirements should follow reasonings, they said.
Aasandha Company's Manager of the Medical Investigation Section Mariyam Fayaza told local media outlet Mihaaru that the first 10 medicines that are to be imported alone would save MVR 2 million from the state budget. She also said that a total of MVR 10 million would saved over the course of an entire year.
Out of the ten medications, seven have now been brought in, while the government is now working to import all the drugs on the basic medicine list from Europe. The list currently has 400 drugs , and the government estimates bulk purchase of all the drugs would save the state MVR 300 million.
"More drugs will come, in different phases. Seven medicines are being rolled out first. Three more drugs are on the way. A total of ten medicines will be rolled out this year. Orders are being placed for the remaining drugs as well. This is a continuous process. MVR 300 million may not be saved each year, but the target is that we're moving forward with estimations of a significant saving," Fayaza said.
Medicines that meet European quality standards are manufactured in countries such as India, Bangladesh and Pakistan as well. Some of the medicine brought this time were also manufactured in India.
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