Dubai: UAE pharmacy counters are starting to go beyond branded drugs. Prodded on by medical insurers who are intent on keeping cost of quality health care and treatment under control, these days prescriptions are more likely to feature their less pricey generic options. This will have far-reaching consequences for UAE’s health care sector given the prevailing concerns over cost escalations.
“Abu Dhabi has already seen the shift to non-branded drug treatments appearing in prescriptions,” said Jobilal Vavachan, CEO of Aster Pharmacy. “Now, we are seeing doctors in Dubai doing the same – the process is controlled at the doctors’ level right through the investigation and prescription process.”
Much of what eventually gets prescribed and then handed over at pharmacies depends on what sort of cover the individual has. “It could be that an individual’s policy could support a branded medication – but those are details that will be decided by the insurer and the pharmacy at the time of signing off,” said Vavachan. “This happens when the prescription provided is handed over at the pharmacy counter.
“It could be that vitamin prescriptions will be excluded… but all of these are based on the policy.”
Best option
As of now, insurers are taking the toothcomb approach to treatment estimates and on prescriptions. Wherever possible, the emphasis is on cutting costs insurers need to bear. The average cost of treatment is doggedly heading up, and if using non-branded drugs more can pare down some of the associated costs, then that is the best option for insurers.
“It is the insurers’ point of view on what to give and what not to,” said Vavachan. “All mature insurance marketplaces have moved in this direction. Dubai is joining in now.”
