Affiliations 

  • 1 Not Indicated
  • 2 Taylor's University
MyJurnal

Abstract

Over the years, the rights of pharmacists as health care professionals have been a controversial topic in the medical field. Pharmacists worldwide have always been independent in being able to practice medicine in their own way and have been given exclusive dispensing rights to distribute drugs and medicines to patients. In Malaysia, however, this is not the case. The overwhelming opinion has been that pharmacists are losing their dispensing rights because doctors are earning more. The current study was carried out in view of recent debates regarding the implementation of a dispensary separation policy in Malaysia. The main objective of this study was to gain an understanding of the views of and challenges experienced by the public in regards to the implementation of this type of policy. The overall results of this study show that dispensing rights are still viewed with mixed feelings. Study subjects reported believing that pharmacists were capable of dispensing medication but that they lack the confidence to make changes within the existing system. When their conditions were not severe, respondents indicated that they preferred the old system where doctors prescribe them with medicine and they subsequently visit the pharmacy. In conclusion, the majority of interview participants were of the opinion that maintaining the current system would benefit them holistically. In this study, input from a total of 929 respondents was gathered via a structured survey conducted throughout Malaysia. The study findings were also supported by data obtained during interviews carried out with 350 informants regarding their views of the implementation of dispensary separation in Malaysia