{"id":60755,"date":"2025-04-29T17:21:09","date_gmt":"2025-04-29T17:21:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/60755\/"},"modified":"2025-04-29T17:21:09","modified_gmt":"2025-04-29T17:21:09","slug":"drug-price-display-may-not-be-helpful-a-patients-perspective","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/60755\/","title":{"rendered":"Drug Price Display May Not Be Helpful: A Patient\u2019s Perspective"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I visited my gynaecologist yesterday for what I thought was a regular urinary tract infection (UTI).<\/p>\n<p>My gynae\u2019s clinic in Kuala Lumpur is small and serene. Two watercolour paintings of the Eiffel Tower and an English mansion hang on one side of the wall, while the other wall is filled with black-and-white stock photographs of couples with babies.<\/p>\n<p>I suppose those photographs will be replaced with a boring whiteboard of medicine prices come Thursday \u2013 assuming that the drug price display is enforced on May 1 as planned. The government has yet to announce the gazettement of the order under the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Act 2011 (Act 723).<\/p>\n<p>At the specialist clinic, I dutifully informed my gynae the date of my last period (last Tuesday) and when I had sexual intercourse with my long-term partner (last Saturday) \u2013 I document everything on my Apple Health app \u2013 before my symptoms appeared yesterday (Monday). (Yes, I\u2019m a model patient.)<\/p>\n<p>With a female assistant in the examination room, he proceeded to examine me and applied a liquid medicine inside my vaginal canal, saying he found a small ulcer or minor inflammation of my cervix.<\/p>\n<p>Does the Ministry of Health (MOH) or the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN) expect the clinic to list the price of this particular quantity of medicine? It is as if the government expects me, the patient, to interrupt my gynae while he\u2019s probing my vagina with a speculum and ask him for the name and price of the drug before I tell him to proceed.<\/p>\n<p>I didn\u2019t, but simply braced for the agonising sensation of the treatment that my doctor claimed would merely be \u201cuncomfortable\u201d or \u201ca little painful\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>He then explained that my minor cervical inflammation was likely due to low immunity during my period and that sexual intercourse wasn\u2019t the cause, but had just made the symptoms appear. (My long-term partner felt bad about it before I visited my gynae.)<\/p>\n<p>While I\u2019m undergoing my vaginal exam, will KPDN officers lurk in the waiting room of the small clinic? Irrespective of their gender (my gynae is a man), I would not feel comfortable at the thought of non-medical enforcement officers just waiting outside while I spread my legs for my doctor. To me, the mere presence of KPDN officers would violate the sanctity of the doctor\u2019s room.<\/p>\n<p>After my exam, will KPDN officers question \u2013 using vulgar terms instead of medical jargon since they\u2019re not medically trained \u2013 what medicine the doctor applied inside my vagina and whether the price for that particular quantity is listed? If they do that, I myself will tell the authorities in no uncertain terms to leave immediately.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/codeblue.galencentre.org\/2025\/04\/doctors-scornful-of-kpdn-video-enforcing-car-workshop-price-display\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">KPDN\u2019s meme-filled video<\/a> of its price display enforcement at a car service workshop illustrates the ministry\u2019s crass approach that is completely inappropriate in health care. When I\u2019m in pain, I don\u2019t want to be used \u2013 by the State, no less \u2013 to create \u201cfunny\u201d TikTok content for hundreds of thousands of views. Simply blurring the patient\u2019s face in such videos won\u2019t be acceptable either.<\/p>\n<p>(In case KPDN doesn\u2019t know, taking photographs or videos is prohibited at public health care facilities. Private health care facilities have similar rules to protect patients, which I expect the government itself to comply with.)<\/p>\n<p>If KPDN wants to enter the world of medicine \u2013 which is completely different from supermarkets or car service workshops \u2013 then they had better know what they\u2019re getting into. They have to be comfortable with doctors talking about vaginas and all the \u201cgross\u201d parts of medical conditions like the depiction of symptoms of cervical cancer in a textbook.<\/p>\n<p>But if even reading this article makes them queasy, then perhaps it isn\u2019t appropriate for KPDN to enforce drug price display.<\/p>\n<p>At the end of my visit, due to the drug price display issue, I asked my gynae for an itemised bill \u2013 something which I had never asked for during my previous visits or other infrequent visits to my general practitioner (GP). (Private hospitals always give itemised billing.)<\/p>\n<p>The RM450 bill on a slip of paper, with the name of the prescribed antibiotic scribbled in barely legible handwriting, was as follows:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Consultation fee: RM100<\/li>\n<li>Procedure (actually the exam): RM150<\/li>\n<li>Oral medications (Zithromax and a vaginal wash): RM200<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>It is somewhat contradictory for the MOH to, on the one hand, promote bundling with the diagnosis-related groups (DRG) payment system but, on the other, demand itemisation of health care charges with drug price display.<\/p>\n<p>Under the price transparency policy, the clinic would have to further itemise the charges for my gynaecological exam by delineating the cost of the medication used, separately from the procedure itself, as well as the use of a speculum, gloves, gauze pads, and whatever other instrument my doctor used to deliver the medicine.<\/p>\n<p>(I wasn\u2019t watching what my gynae was doing underneath the sheet, but simply stared at the flowered wallpaper under harsh examination lights as I slowly inhaled and exhaled, just wanting it all to end.)<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/codeblue.galencentre.org\/2024\/08\/liam-ceo-stunned-by-13-page-hospital-bill-for-rm19000-minor-hernia-surgery\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Itemised billing for health care<\/a> (actually transparency) is exactly what the MOH is supposedly trying to move private hospitals away from.<\/p>\n<p>In my case, the doctor used just a small amount of medication during my gynaecological exam. He didn\u2019t give me the remaining tube or bottle to take home after my visit. So how is price display supposed to work? <\/p>\n<p>Is the clinic meant to display the price for the SKU (stock keeping unit) and charge me that price, even though only a small amount was used? Or is my doctor supposed to charge me a fraction of the price of the SKU, which might confuse both patients and enforcers due to differing prices between the display and bill?<\/p>\n<p>While I understand that the MOH wants to provide patients the ability to fill their prescription elsewhere if the displayed prices of their prescribed medicine at a GP or specialist clinic are perceived to be too expensive, it\u2019s not that simple in reality.<\/p>\n<p>I found my gynae three years ago through some positive internet reviews. I returned to him because I was comfortable with him and he would already have my history based on repeat visits.<\/p>\n<p>When I received my first-ever itemised bill at the clinic yesterday, which included RM200 for antibiotics and vaginal wash, I deliberated on whether I should request for a prescription and fill it at an AA pharmacy just a few doors down.<\/p>\n<p>It could not be any more convenient for me to take my prescription to a pharmacy that would definitely charge me a lot less for antibiotics. But I didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n<p>The Hokkien term \u201cpai seh\u201d \u2013 loosely translated as feeling embarrassed or sheepish \u2013 perfectly captured my feelings. Asking my regular gynae for a prescription to fill elsewhere, just so I could save some money by not buying medicines from him, felt wrong somehow. Malaysia does not have a culture of dispensing separation, unlike the UK.<\/p>\n<p>Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister Armizan Mohd Ali <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sinarharian.com.my\/article\/723625\/berita\/nasional\/kenapa-paparan-harga-ubat-perlu-dikecualikan-soal-armizan\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">recently compared medicine to gold<\/a>, asking: \u201cWhat\u2019s so special about medicine that price displays need to be exempt?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While KPDN may not understand doctor-patient relationships, I certainly expect the MOH to appreciate the complex interactions between a doctor and patient that cannot simply be reduced to monetary transactions over drugs like a retail good.<\/p>\n<p>If the ultimate objective of drug price display is to benefit patients, the government should first ensure that enforcement of the policy does not cause any discomfort to patients or violate patient confidentiality. (Some patients may not want outsiders like enforcement officers knowing that they\u2019re at a gynae clinic in the first place.)<\/p>\n<p>I am personally still on the fence about drug price display. While I support the MOH\u2019s intentions for price transparency, the government seems to lack understanding of the complexities of health care.<\/p>\n<p>This story about my gynae visit is meant to give KPDN a small glimpse into the raw and elemental world of medicine that is simultaneously a terrible beauty to behold and a mishmash of horror and gore\u2014far removed from pretty gold products glittering in velvet cases behind glass counters.<\/p>\n<p>As for MOH, think about what you really want to achieve with price transparency. <\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"461\" height=\"460\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/BSL.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2375\" style=\"width:98px;height:auto\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>Boo Su-Lyn is the editor-in-chief of CodeBlue.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I visited my gynaecologist yesterday for what I thought was a regular urinary tract infection (UTI). My gynae\u2019s&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":60756,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4315],"tags":[22585,31430,105,4326,22586,22587,31431,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-60755","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-medication","8":"tag-drug-price-display","9":"tag-gynae-clinic","10":"tag-health","11":"tag-medication","12":"tag-medicine-price-display","13":"tag-price-transparency","14":"tag-specialist-clinic","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114422407751693246","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60755","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60755"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60755\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60756"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60755"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60755"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60755"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}