People's thoughts on the drug crisis

People's thoughts on the drug crisis

JAKARTA (JP): Removed from fears of layoffs and food
shortages, most of us are willing ourselves to stay healthy.

Medicines, suddenly exorbitantly expensive and hard to find,
rank as a luxury item for many. What is the public's prescription
for dealing with the dilemma?

Sri Hartini, a housewife and mother of three: I'm not highly
educated, I don't ask questions about drugs prescribed by my
doctor ... If I ask any questions, it's only about how many times
a day it should be taken.

I can stand being sick without seeing a doctor due to my
limited family budget, but it is not the same for my children. I
cannot see them suffer without taking them to the doctor, even
though it will cost me more.

But I wonder why drug prices keep increasing day after day. It
makes it difficult for me to set a budget for my children's
health care.

Darwis, an employee of a pharmacy in Blok M, South Jakarta: I
closely watch the steady increase of drug prices, especially
patented drugs. It seems like distributors can raise drugs prices
any time they like, without understanding that it will be
difficult for our store to sell it.

The number of my store's customers has sharply decreased
lately.

Previously, our store was open until 9 p.m., but after no
customers came after 6 p.m. for two consecutive weeks, the store
owner decided to close at 7 p.m.

My only fear now is about losing my job here ...

Harry Sutikno, a university student: I understand that the
government is busy putting the economy back in order, but I still
cannot understand why it has failed to control drug prices.

It is amazing why this country, with plenty of natural
resources, still has to import materials to produce drugs.

If the government made preparations by encouraging the
production of drugs here a long time ago, people would not have
to suffer from high drug prices today.

Supriadi, a taxi driver and father of two: Every time I go to
see a doctor now, I always tell him that I am only a taxi driver
and I have a wife and two small children to feed. I do this to
prevent him from prescribing expensive drugs for me.

Once I had to pay more than Rp 200,000 for a prescription. I
was stunned by the amount, and I had to borrow money from my
relatives to be able to pay for it. I could not just refuse to
pay for the drugs because they were for my sick daughter. Now, I
won't let the same thing happen again.

Aswandi Akbar, drug salesman: It is hard lately for my
distributor to provide drugs as requested by privately owned
pharmacies or drugstores.

It is untrue what some people think that distributors are
stashing drug supplies, or increasing prices whenever we want.

Drug prices are set by the government and the manufacturers.

And, at present, we don't have enough supplies from the
manufacturers. Our current supplies may only last for several
months.

According to my superior, most manufacturers now prioritize
drug supplies for hospitals and community health centers. The
manufacturers cannot produce more drugs because of the shortage
of raw materials to produce them.

Sutarjo, a nasi goreng (fried rice) vendor: Whenever my family
and I get sick, we always go to a community health center close
to our home. I pay just Rp 500 for the treatment and the drugs
there.

For a man with an income like mine, it is almost impossible to
see a private practitioner, who has an expensive service charge
and prescribes expensive drugs.

My neighbor, who only visits a private practitioner, said that
he paid Rp 35,000 for the doctor's treatment and Rp 85,000 more
for the drugs. Where I can get that amount of money in a day?
Even if I can sell all of my fried rice, my profit is still low.
(ste)