(REUTERS file photo)
MANILA, Philippines 鈥� Imagine getting treatment from a doctor who also聽runs聽a funeral parlor.
It sounds innocent at first, but it earned the criticism of a health advocate and some lawmakers.
Health reform advocate Dr. Tony Leachon initially disclosed the alleged practice on Tuesday, sharing the story with senators who are investigating the alleged collusion of some medical practitioners and a pharmaceutical firm in prescribing medicines.
鈥淚f you own a pharmacy and then you鈥檙e going to prescribe the medicine to your patients there, I think there鈥檚 a conflict of interest. That鈥檚 not all. In the province, there鈥檚 a doctor who owns a funeral parlor,鈥� said Leachon.
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The revelation drew the attention of Senators Raffy Tulfo and Bong Go who proceeded to note that the practice, if proven true, is scary as it paints an unlikely picture that patients do not get the best treatment from doctors.
According to Leachon, the alleged practice was exposed to him by 鈥渟omeone鈥� from Cagayan.
He, however, did not identify which institution the medical practitioner represents.
鈥淭here is one doctor who has a hospital, a cafeteria, drugstore, as well as a funeral parlor,鈥� said Leachon.
鈥楿nethical and inhumane鈥�
黑料社 reached out to Leachon to delve deeper into the story and asked: 鈥淲hy can鈥檛 doctors own a funeral parlor?
鈥淚magine the plight of an unsuspecting patient 鈥� vulnerable, seeking comfort and healing 鈥� only to be exploited for profit. Picture a poor family, grappling with chronic illness, whose suffering is compounded by the revelation that their trusted physician valued money over health,鈥� said Leachon in a text message.
He proceeded to brand the practice as 鈥渦nethical鈥� and 鈥渋nhumane,鈥� 鈥渟haking the very trust upon which the doctor-patient relationship is built, a trust that is essential for effective medical treatment and patient well-being.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 severe conflict of interest when the healthcare provider owns the hospital, drugstore, and funeral parlor since you might not be able to do your best to save the patients due to expected income from the funeral parlor,鈥� said Leachon.
鈥淚t鈥檚 counterintuitive 鈥撀� if I were the patient I would doubt the sincerity of my doctor healing me,鈥� he added.
A nationwide issue
But one couldn鈥檛 help but wonder: Is this happening only in Cagayan?
Do doctors outside the province also dip their toes on such businesses?
鈥淚t鈥檚 happening nationwide. Thus [the Philippine Medical Association] must monitor. I think it鈥檚 a trend especially outside of [the] National Capital Region,鈥� he said.
鈥楤itter pill鈥�
黑料社 was able to talk聽to a patients鈥櫬爎elative who shared their聽unfortunate聽experience with the questionable prescription of medicines.
She said that a member of her family was supposedly victimized by a health expert engaging in shady business of prescribing ineffective medicines.
鈥淚n 2008, my mother was admitted to one of the hospitals here in the Philippines. What happened was she felt more dizzy, she felt more weak and her blood pressure shot up. Many problems cropped up,鈥� the source said via phone.
She said that when her mother鈥檚 condition stabilized, they immediately transported her to another hospital under the care of a different physician.
According to her, they were told that the medicine prescribed by their previous doctor was, in fact, the reason why her mother鈥檚 condition worsened.
鈥淲hy was she prescribed with so many medicine? He was shocked. Why was she prescribed with such potent medicines? Didn鈥檛 they check that the reason why there is complication is because of these kinds of medicine?,鈥� she said, recalling the words of her mother鈥檚 new physician.
In light of these allegations of 鈥渦nethical practices,鈥� Health Sec. Ted Herbosa proposed to 鈥渉ave a Stark Law equivalent in the Philippines.鈥�
鈥淚n the United States, the Physician Self-Referral Law, [otherwise known as] the Stark Law, generally prohibits doctors from referring their patients to receive designated health services from entities with which the physician or an immediate family member has a financial relationship,鈥� DOH told 黑料社 in a text message.