Thai Community Pharmacies

Community pharmacies in Thailand are a very important resource, but are very different from in the United States. Since there is universal free healthcare in Thailand, the hospitals often have very long wait times to receive care (even to pick up a prescription). Many people spend an entire day patiently waiting in the hospital to receive care (this would never happen in the U.S.)!

Therefore, many patients go straight to their local community pharmacy to seek advice and therapy from the pharmacist. Unfortunately, not all pharmacies have an actual pharmacist, which can create many problems. In order to operate legally, the pharmacy is supposed to have a pharmacist associated with it, but only about 5,000 out of the 13,000 community pharmacies follow this rule. The Thai FDA doesn't have enough resources and manpower to enforce these laws.

However, there are many great pharmacies that are following the law and providing valuable services to their community. One example is Osotsala Pharmacy which is operated by Chulalongkorn University's Faculty of Pharmaceutical Science (pictured below). 

They provide "prescription" medications to individuals who have an appropriate condition. In Thailand, a prescription is not required for many of the drugs that require a prescription in the United States (including antibiotics, which has caused many drug resistant organisms due to antibiotic overuse). This pharmacy makes sure their patients truly need what they are requesting, instead of handing over the medication without any questioning. For example, they have a throat examination kit that helps the patients determine if their throat infection is viral or bacterial in order to prevent inappropriate antibiotic use.

Over the counter products are a huge part of many community pharmacies in Thailand, and some pharmacies only sell these products, especially the ones without pharmacists. Acne care and face whitening products are very popular in Thailand.

In addition to "prescription" medications and over the counter products, Osotsala Pharmacy also provides educational services to the community, often through the use of student pharmacists.

The day we visited Osotsala, they had a booth set up to educate patients on how to screen themselves for breast cancer! They also have a kit to check herbal medications that patients bring in to see if there is any steroid contamination. Many herbal medications are contaminated with these steroids to improve their actions and make patients buy more of it. However, long term use of steroids (cortisone, etc.) can have many harmful effects, which is why a prescription is required to obtain them in the United States.

Overall, Thailand has a long way to go in order to ensure all of their community pharmacies are providing quality care, but there are still many wonderful pharmacies providing a much needed service to those who can't sacrifice an entire day waiting for care in the hospital!