Bahrain: No compulsion to buy medication from hospital pharmacies
Authorities have confirmed that no health institution in Bahrain can compel its patients to purchase medications or other prescriptions from in-house pharmacies.
People allege compulsion by certain private hospitals to purchase medication from in-house stores. They say they have no choice since doctors do not hand over the prescription to them and instead direct patients to their pharmacies.
“The hospital is depriving the patients of their right to purchase their medicine (or other medical items) from a store of our choice. Besides, almost always we must wait in a long queue at a hospital pharmacy, with a token, to purchase the medicine which could have been bought from any other store. It is such a waste of time. Is this an ethical practice?”
Meanwhile, the National Health Regulatory Authority (NHRA) stressed that no health institution in Bahrain could force patients to purchase medications or other prescriptions from in-house pharmacies. Communication lines with the Authority remain open for any grievances or concerns about this, NHRA added.
The Authority also affirmed that all pharmaceutical prices were monitored, and the price of medication remained the same across all pharmacies in Bahrain. The NHRA highlighted that the launched National Health Plan (2016-2025) calls for creating national systems for the digital transformation of health records and prescriptions to ensure ease of access and higher quality services.
