Generic drugs are alternative solutions generally offered in pharmaceutical establishments in order to at least allow consumers to obtain treatment at a reduced price due to the difficulty some people have in purchasing drugs beyond their means. But are they as effective as those considered more expensive?
Experts say yes while specifying that those which are more expensive have increased effectiveness. Generics drugs would therefore be a second-class products suitable for the wallets of those who have an average monthly income which can allow them to acquire them even if it does not allow them to satisfy all their basic needs. In fact, in a context where underpaid work, without social protection and dangerous for the worker's health causes him to remain in a state of execrable precariousness, not everyone can obtain a generic medication offered by the conventional medicine; hence the need for other alternatives: the traditional pharmacopoeia and the commitment of souls of good will.
What a generic drug cannot satisfy without prior payment, can be resolved thanks to the multiple therapeutic virtues of certain plants. But the price of quality is always high. Even if we can find satisfaction by purchasing a medicine from the traditional pharmacopoeia at a lower cost, not everyone is able to obtain them; hence the importance of an even more precious palliative solution: the generosity of souls of good will. Anyone able to contribute to the relief of suffering in Africa will never be too many.
Quality of service and adjustment to the social context
When an individual goes to a pharmaceutical establishment and describes the symptoms of the illness he feels, he will be served according to his means while benefiting from the expertise of the person who receive him. But the pharmacist cannot afford to make a prescription other than that made by a doctor. This mark of respect that obeys a set of rules and duties that govern a profession makes us wonder why don't doctors also recommend generic drugs? Why don't the prescriptions adjust to the level of the average Cameroonian's wallet? Do they doubt the effectiveness of generic drugs? Regardless, a good doctor is always uncomfortable when one of his patients informs him that he cannot obtain certain medications or pay for certain medical treatments.
Also read : Quality health care : Between shortages and clochartization of personnel.
Health establishments must be places of restoration and not places of sequestration. The doctor knows the importance of a health record more than an individual who is only concerned with relieving his pain by fleeing. There will always be payment problems; if it is even necessary to allow patients to undergo treatment and pay the bill later, there will always be some who in bad faith will choose to be dishonest despite having come into possession of the expected and agreed amount.
The benevolence of a health professional can come up against the bad faith of certain patients, just as the lack of necessary resources of certain patients can come up against the hostility or lack of humanism of a failing health system. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be optimistic. Efforts are being made, but there is still much to do, both at the level of public authorities and other citizens or institutions capable of responding to an ever-increasing demand for health assistance.
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