Step to stop drug pilfering in public hospitals

Health Minister AFM Ruhal Haque yesterday said the government would provide specially packaged drugs to public hospitals across the country next month to stop drug pilfering.
Private drug manufacturing companies would not be allowed to use the same package for open sale in the market, he added.
The minister said this as the chief guest at the 23rd scientific conference of Bangladesh Orthopaedic Society at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in the city.
“Special packaging system will help stop drug pilfering from the storerooms of public hospitals and also help reduce the wastage of the government medicines which are mainly manufactured for poor patients for free distribution.”
Anti-adulteration mobile courts of chief metropolitan magistrate and Drug Administration (DA) already seized not-for-sale drugs from the city's main drug hub Mitford market and some small shops from different places.
AA Salim Barami, assistant director of DA, told The Daily Star that: “We could not provide the exact amount of such pilfered drugs which are only for free distribution in public hospitals for poor patients.”
In the first week of January, DA and CMM court in a joint drive found that different types of costly medicines with stickers 'not for sale' were available in the Mitford Hospital area.
Sources in the drug wholesale market also alleged that the government-supplied free drugs come from the storerooms of different state-owned hospitals through their own employees even with the help of on-duty physicians and sell the drugs in cheaper rates.
Prof Md Sirajul Islam chaired the conference where State Minister of Health Mujibur Rahman Fakir, DGHS Director General Shah Monir Hossain, Bangladesh Medical Association General Secretary Prof Md Sharfuddin Ahmed, Bangladesh Orthopaedic Society Secretary Prof Sazzad Hossain and Chairman of conference preparation committee Prof Md Iqbal Kavi also spoke.
Bangladesh Orthopaedic Society introduced Dr RJ Garst Memorial Award for the first time and gave it to the health minister for his contribution to the orthopaedic surgery.
Dr Garst was a US citizen, who founded National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedic Rehabilitation (Nitor). He is called the father of modern orthopaedic surgery.