Pharmacies are racing to register their facilities under Good Pharmacy Practice (GPP) standards as the Ministry of Health's January 1 deadline nears.
"The number of GPP applications has increased from one or two per month to nearly 100 in September," said Deputy Director of the Hanoi Health Department Nguyen Van Yen.
The department said that about 1,100 among the capital's 1,900 pharmacies had received GPP registration, and its representatives worry that their limited resources might be overloaded as more pharmacies rushed to meet to the deadline.
Pharmacist Minh Chinh, who owns Minh Chinh Pharmacy on Quang Trung street , said she had to invest about 3,000 USD into her store in preparation for GPP registration.
Health authorities explain that pharmacies do not want to qualify for GPP because registering will force them to invest more money into their infrastructure and facilities.
An investment of 2,000 or 3,000 USD is not much for a pharmacy in urban areas, but the amount can be a serious challenge to pharmacies in the countryside. Several pharmacies are waiting to see if the health ministry will postpone their the implementation of their policy.
With nearly 3,700 pharmacies, HCM City is facing similar problems. About 1,000 pharmacies have GPP licences, which accounts for 27 percent of the city's total. The city's health authorities expect that about 1,500 pharmacies will be able to meet GPP standards by the end of 2010.
"We asked the health ministry and the HCM City's People Committee to extend the GPP deadline for a few months so more pharmacies would be able to register for GPP", said Deputy Director of the HCM City Health Department Pham Khanh Phong Lan.
Lan explained that GPP licence required pharmacies to follow sales and consulting standards that many establishments had little experience in following.
HCM City has 4,586 pharmacists with university degrees. However, most of the graduates have little experience with consulting or sales. The municipal health department plans to strengthen its communication activities concerning GPP and will revoke their licences if the pharmacies violate GPP regulations, according to Lan.
"We also requested that pharmacies without GPP licences be permitted to sell only non-prescription drugs for an extended amount of time", she said.
In 2007, the Ministry of Health stated that pharmacies that failed to meet GPP standards would be closed. The GPP regulation is expected to prevent people from buying unnecessary and self prescribing drugs./.
"The number of GPP applications has increased from one or two per month to nearly 100 in September," said Deputy Director of the Hanoi Health Department Nguyen Van Yen.
The department said that about 1,100 among the capital's 1,900 pharmacies had received GPP registration, and its representatives worry that their limited resources might be overloaded as more pharmacies rushed to meet to the deadline.
Pharmacist Minh Chinh, who owns Minh Chinh Pharmacy on Quang Trung street , said she had to invest about 3,000 USD into her store in preparation for GPP registration.
Health authorities explain that pharmacies do not want to qualify for GPP because registering will force them to invest more money into their infrastructure and facilities.
An investment of 2,000 or 3,000 USD is not much for a pharmacy in urban areas, but the amount can be a serious challenge to pharmacies in the countryside. Several pharmacies are waiting to see if the health ministry will postpone their the implementation of their policy.
With nearly 3,700 pharmacies, HCM City is facing similar problems. About 1,000 pharmacies have GPP licences, which accounts for 27 percent of the city's total. The city's health authorities expect that about 1,500 pharmacies will be able to meet GPP standards by the end of 2010.
"We asked the health ministry and the HCM City's People Committee to extend the GPP deadline for a few months so more pharmacies would be able to register for GPP", said Deputy Director of the HCM City Health Department Pham Khanh Phong Lan.
Lan explained that GPP licence required pharmacies to follow sales and consulting standards that many establishments had little experience in following.
HCM City has 4,586 pharmacists with university degrees. However, most of the graduates have little experience with consulting or sales. The municipal health department plans to strengthen its communication activities concerning GPP and will revoke their licences if the pharmacies violate GPP regulations, according to Lan.
"We also requested that pharmacies without GPP licences be permitted to sell only non-prescription drugs for an extended amount of time", she said.
In 2007, the Ministry of Health stated that pharmacies that failed to meet GPP standards would be closed. The GPP regulation is expected to prevent people from buying unnecessary and self prescribing drugs./.
