Sri Lanka needs to introduce laws on Health Literacy and Patients’ Rights

While this is just one isolated incident, there are various other instances when patients have been referred to particular pharmacies by doctors. Doctors would say that certain drugs cannot be found elsewhere and that they could only be purchased at a particular pharmacy 

Even though Sri Lanka has been acknowledged as a country with a satisfactory literacy rate, time has come to question whether the average Sri Lankan also falls into the categories of literate, educated and knowledgeable. Literate by definition is the ability to read and write. Educated by definition means having a good education while knowledgeable is defined as being well-informed and having  an understanding about various topics. 

An average Sri Lankan could barely pass a test on general knowledge but not a test which is subject-specific such as medicine. Except for an occasional panadol or paracetamol and medicine such as Vitamin C, people often disregard their right to know the medicines that the doctor prescribes for their ailments and illnesses. It is either too much information to know the generic names of medicines and what they are prescribed for, or people simply worry about their finances etc., as soon as the thought of having to go to hospital crosses their mind. So people simply cannot invest their time in knowing which medicine is prescribed for which illness. 

While a handful of doctors still attempt to educate patients on what they are adding to their system while also providing information on how to respond to side effects of taking heavy doses of medicines, most doctors would give a prescription after doing some health checks and patients would purchase them from a pharmacy and leave. They absolutely have no clue about what has been prescribed for them. 

It is a known fact that the pharmaceutical industry is a money-spinner, be it essential medicines, devices etc. This was evident at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic when big businessmen diversified their businesses to procuring antigen kits, face masks etc. In addition to being a money-spinner, the health sector has transformed into a haven for corruption. 

This was evident with the recent arrest of a specialist neurosurgeon and a clerk attached to the Sri Jayewardenepura General Hospital along with a third individual, who worked in a private firm owned by the specialist neurosurgeon. They were arrested by the Bribery Commission over allegations of selling drugs at higher prices through a third party, the Commission said. As such patients were charged Rs. 250,000 for an item worth only Rs. 17,500. 

According to the Commission, despite the hospital having the capacity to supply these items through its official supply division, the accused are alleged to have misled patients into purchasing them from external private parties. This has reportedly resulted in financial losses for the patients and undue gains for the suspects and affiliated external suppliers.

While this is just one isolated incident, there are various other instances when patients have been referred to particular pharmacies by doctors. Doctors would say that certain drugs cannot be found elsewhere and that they could only be purchased at a particular pharmacy. The pharmacy in turn benefits from this publicity and recommendation. Following the economic crisis, the import of high quality drugs came to an abrupt halt. As a result, patients are sometimes prescribed with high doses of low quality drugs. One example is that of a cancer patient who was prescribed with one drug. But after some time, perhaps when the importation of this drug stopped, he had to take a handful of pills to make up to the dose of that one drug. With such ad hoc measures, patients are at risk of developing kidney failure, which would again benefit pharmacies and certain corrupt doctors. 

When a former Health Minister said that ‘not all patients come out alive’ people should have taken it more seriously, because at least he had spoken the truth. He said  that is why there are funeral parlours in front of hospitals. Sri Lanka needs to revisit its old laws and look at introducing a patients’ charter, to hold doctors and hospital authorities accountable for medical negligence. Health literacy should be incorporated in the Constitution as a fundamental right in order to narrow down the knowledge gap between the health sector and public. After all, a patient walks into a hospital with hopes of living rather than dying and doctors should take their job MORE seriously.