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Substandard Medicines Consumes Over 100 Lives

Nida Hasan on 30, Jan 2012 | 7 Comments | in Category: Health Talk

Nida Hasan

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Over a 100 people have been reported dead, thanks to the negligence of the authorities. Who are these authorities and what role are they playing in administering proper healthcare? Is anyone looking into whether healthcare professionals are operating efficiently and giving proper treatment to patients? Who is to be blamed for an error that consumed over 100 lives and puts many more at stake? Should we blame the Prime Minister, the federal government, pharmaceutical companies or the doctors working at Punjab Institute of Cardiology?

All these questions are valid, yet they remain unanswered because we are told that work is being done and investigation is underway to figure out the root cause involved in the sale, purchase and use of substandard medicines. It has been found that the Punjab Institute of Cardiology had distributed one of the five suspected medicines to its cardiac patients without getting it analyzed from the Drug Testing Laboratory. Still, the drug was included in the combination regimen. Have we become so hard hearted and careless? We give substandard and trial drugs to our patients without their consent because they trust our diagnosis and have faith in us as healers. Are we forgetting that when we become doctors we take an oath of practicing medicine ethically?

In the race for money and success we are claiming innocent souls. Where is the sense of responsibility? If we lack judgment and knowledge it’s better not to advise rather than instructing someone to start a treatment that could be potentially life threatening. As a result of this, the load on other hospitals like Services, Mayo, Jinnah and Lahore General Hospital has increased drastically and this is only going to hamper the discharge of efficient healthcare to the already admitted patients. What good will the so called inquiry and FIR’s do when people are dead and more are dying? Cash assistance has been provided to the families of the victims but this money is not going to last forever. Although the Punjab government has reportedly put the names of five owners of pharmaceutical companies on the ECL and the sale of Cardiovestin 20mg (Mega Pharma), Isotab (Efroze Pharma), Corcont 5mg (Swiss Pharma), Zafnol 50mg (Zafa Pharma) and Solprin 300mg (Pharma Wise) has been restricted until final reports are available, in the long run we need to be aware of how much damage this negligence has caused to so many families.

It was indeed very surprising to read in one of the articles that The Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (PPMA) has threatened to stop supply of medicines to hospitals in lieu of the government’s role in unnecessarily harassing owners of pharmaceutical companies. No one is ready to take responsibility of what happened. Adverse drug reactions are always indicated and in a country like ours these things need to be explained to the patients so they can prepare themselves when faced with the side effects. Pharmaceuticals like others have also become very business oriented and won’t feel sorry if their drugs cause untimely deaths for others.

We fail to think that this person could be our family, our friend or neighbor – a father to his kids, a son to his parents and the list goes on. But no – we don’t care, why should we care. We are reckless, inept and selfish. This is a practice is definitely not new, people dying is definitely not new but when someone dies a death like this, we should bow our heads down in shame. This incident shows that we are not responsible citizens or responsible doctors and to sum it up we have negated our existence as humans.

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Asad Naqvi

I have been associated with pharma industry since long. Practically it is impossible that 6 different companies produce 6 different substandard medicines of different generic at the same time. These companies produce these medicines in large batches and also market these in the market on shops. There are a lot of questions that need answering. Prescribing practices must also be investigated and I am sure that top tier doctors have done some negligence.
Kinza

Thanks Nida you have make a great Job…we are the patients we don’t have any kind of knowledge….Well Done
Nida_hasan

we are nowhere near to how the west would go about it.Mayo Clinic refuses to take any sort of drug from the pharmaceutical.they have their own department that looks up the latest research and clinical trials,fda approvals and then selects which brand and drug is to be given to patients.We need to have a better monitoring system of drugs and definitely looking into autopsies would help us a lot
Zephyr_2000

Emotions are running high – this is surely a very sensitive topic. I am also part of the pharma industry and have been following the news regularly to keep up to date with the unfoldings of the day. What has caught my attention is that now that we do know what caused the deaths, the investigations have started, and some things that the media is not understanding is: this is an old, estabilished, reputable company with big exports and a reputation for maintaining their standards. This particular medicine was manufactured in Pakistan for the first time by Efroze some 30 yrs ago and for a long time, it was for a multi-national company. What I don’t understand is:
1. there is no relation between the medicine contents and anti-malarial contents found in the drug.
2. the anti-malarial content was found in ONE batch out of so many others delivered and consumed
3. the anti-malarial raw material added is actually more expensive than the raw material used in this medicine
Question: The company will have to be rather silly to cut costs by adding extra, more expensive raw material – that too of such a lethal combination that would bring them to the forefront. It looks like a case of negligence or sabotage rather than providing sub-standard medicines. Also, I’d like to add that I know of atleast the three Khi companies mentioned: Zafa, Efroze and Swiss – and they are held in high esteem by the industry. This was probably the only thriving industry in the past decade – and thanks to the way things were handled, it seems like this too shall go down the drain. Lets control ourselves and analyze before we start throwing accusations and believe in only the worst.
Anonymous

Nida

Do you think the system will become safer with fewer deaths if hospitals had each drug (let alone batches) tested before putting it on their spproved list?

You say ‘Pharmaceuticals like others have also become very business orientated’ but then profit is their aim. A better quality control in manfacturing process and accurate information on drugs in te Prescriber’s journal – the job of a regulatory body. Zephyr_2000 makes a valid observation.

Any problems associated with self-medication apart, doctors would need to have accurate history from patients (I wonder what is in the deceased patients’ notes) before prescribing. In treatment rooms, you do not want an emotional or a hasty doctor or the patients suffer!
M. Saeed

It is highly highly appalling that we have lost value of life. Our Government values its own survival by all hooks-and-crooks more than the dying masses committing suicides for poverty, suicide-bombing and now on fake drugs.
Marketing fake drugs is clearly premeditated murder for minting illegal money and any real Government would take it like that, but not this demon-government.

I know from my personal experience in Iraq under Saddam, medical doctors were under strict observation to follow their professional ethics. Pharmacists and pathological laboratories were under strict control without any room for irregularities. There was no laxity of any sort because the slightest mistakes would entail serious punishments. Although considered being inhuman strictness by many, it was the real practical way that ensured preserving value of human life. Even if we had known Saddam for his various inhuman deeds, medical facilities and their performance under him was absolutely human.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Nazir-K-Ali/100000107251982 Nazir K Ali

Playing with human lives in Pakistan is comparing it to ‘street cricket’ and ‘gilli dunda.’ A callous and casual approach is going on everywhere. Everything is being taken for granted with pomp and indifference. Antipathy.
The guilty in this case are the Federal and Provincial (if any) Health Ministries, PPMA, involved hospitals and the profit making pharma companies. The Health Minister should be in the dock accompanied by the doctors, pharma owners and lab owners and technicians.
Establishing special courts and designating such crimes as “terrorism” will settle volumes of negligence. Conduct summary trials and no question of mercy. (Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth).
In the UK, our players were punished with 5, 7 and 10 years of prohibition from playing cricket. Even club cricket. See the results. They are in front for all of us to see and applaud. The mess in the health sector can be compared to the mess left behind by the ex-chairman of PCB.
Human lives are not cricket balls to be hit for fours and sixes at our leisure and pleasure. They are flesh, bones and blood, which only ALLMIGHTY ALLAH can make. Thank GOD.
Do our Parliamentarians care? Look at the attendance in our Parliament? Read how quickly resolutions are passed in minutes without any debate. Just shows that the ‘biradari’ system is alive and kicking.
Salams to our beleaguered Pakistan

Substandard Medicines Consumes Over 100 Lives

Nida Hasan

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