And so while those trusted meds have been put on the back shelf - they say for your safety - what about other, brand name prescription medicines? Many complain that trusted, reliable brands which keep them healthy have become scarce or unavailable locally, and the generics don't do the job.
The Ministry's response is that all those generics meet three main standards - which are at the heart of the new regulations. These are certificates of GMP, short for Good Manufacturing Practice, CPP, short for Certificate of pharmaceutical product, and COA, Certificate of analysis.
He says that the so called clamp down on certain prescription meds, is really an issue of meeting standards and making sure that what you are buying with a brand name is not a knock off:..
Dr. Marvin Manzanero, Director of Health Services
"We are not clamping down. We are requesting that everybody supplies their GMP, CPP, COA. And you talk about branded products, but the branded products still have to go through the same process. How do I know that the - X Brand - that people have traditionally been getting - how do I know that is in point of fact, that brand? How can you guarantee to us as a heath system that in point of fact, just because the box says that it is what it is - that it in point of fact, contains that?"
"Explain to us, for example, why a brand name product in Belize is cheaper than the same brand name product in Chetumal? I am still trying to wrap myself around medications used for cholesterol that cause $18 here but in Chetumal, they cost $36. And when you ask the brand name product in Costa Rica or Mexico what do you think about this product, they are saying that doesn't seem to be a genuine product that's in your market."
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