Encoded prescription in Herat; when the doctors extort poor patients

According to many patients, some doctors seem having under the table contracts with drugstores in Herat, they with encoded prescriptions lead patients to targeted drugstores.

The unaware patient being forced to buy his/her medicine refers to the targeted drugstores.

Talking to Raha News Agency, a brain-suffering patient said he had seen a neurologist and the neurologist having encoded prescription asked him to refer to a specific pharmacy.

“The other pharmacies in Herat, but the target one couldn’t read my prescription.” added he

He said in target drugstores the medicines are sold two-to-three times more expensive: doctors` shares are included.   

“This doctors-drugstores under the table relationships have made the patients miserable because many cannot afford paying for such expensive medicines.” he added    

“There is no government to control the situations and stop people`s ripping off” said the patient

Mohammad Akbari, residing in Herat, also told Raha News Agency some doctors prescribe pass-worded prescriptions which are readable by the target drugstores.

The patients unaware of the situation do in accordance with the doctors` guidance and refer to the pharmacies as the doctors had told them Mr. Akbari said  

The doctors warn the patients about buying false medicines unless they refer to specific drugstores he added

“Ensuring reference to their target drugstores, the doctors ask patients to show them the medicines after the have bought them” said he

Mr. Akbari said comparing to the other drugstores, drugs in targeted pharmacies are three times more expensive, for example, a 500 hundred Afs prescription in ordinary drugstores cost 1000 Afs in targeted pharmacies.

Another resident of Herat confirming the hidden relationships between doctors and pharmacies in Herat said he knew about it after he had bought medicines from targeted drugstores and brought it to another one for comparison: the price was half of the amount he had paid in targeted drugstores.

Dr. Wakil Ahmad Pedram, accused of extorting people, was out of reach despite many calling.

Health officials in Herat also rejected answering the issue.