Clearing the air
Health Minister John Boyce will be meeting today with stakeholders to discuss recent changes to the Barbados National Drug Formulary.
Effective April 1st amendments were made to the Formulary. Some drugs were removed while others have been added. These changes have since been a source of discussion in public discourse.
Boyce stated today’s meeting was arranged because he has received “inquiries from the Barbados Association of Medical Practitioners and the Barbados pharmacy owners, along with doctors and representatives of medical institutions who want to have further discussions with the Ministry Health with respect to these changes in the Formulary.”
“Let me assure you, that as far as I am aware these changes are usually very, very minimal but even when changes are made and the preponderant view is that these changes should either be changed or varied or reversed, you can rest assured that the authority rests with the Minister and the team at the Ministry of Health to carry out this action. So you can be assured that we will continue and engage those stakeholders who have raised questions with respect to the Drug Formulary from as early as Monday afternoon so that we can quickly clarify for Barbadians the situation with regard to the Drug Formulary.”
The Health Minister’s comments came as he addressed the Fitness For All Mini Workout Marathon held to mark World Health Day 2018 and the 70th anniversary of the World Health Organisation (WHO). This Health Ministry initiative occurred on Saturday at Oistins Bay Garden.
Boyce told the gathering “that there are not a large number of issues being raised but there are a few drugs especially referred to as combination drugs which have raised some eyebrows in terms of prescriptions issued by doctors or prescriptions being filled by pharmacists.”
He gave the assurance “that the issues raised and the questions raised in this regard will be dealt with over the next couple of days in discussion with the representatives and of course, the Drug Service and we want to make sure that the best solution exists for Barbados and that we continue to enjoy the kind of health care and kind of health treatment that we are accustom to.”