When a new patient is discharged, all drugs prescribed are new medication. How would the patient know if he needs to collect two weeks' worth of drugs for the first instalment, or how much drugs to collect if these are on a 'use when necessary' basis?

Often, patients are not aware if they are being monitored for dose changes. Again, how would they know if a prescription is for 'experimental' use, let alone request a smaller quantity?

For a diabetic patient on long-term medication, he will be given many weeks' worth of drugs. If his attending doctor later decides to change drugs, what could he do with the excess medication?

The last time I checked, drugs must be returned within three days and an application made at an administrative fee of $20/$25 to obtain a Medisave refund from the CPF Board. As it makes no sense to pay a hefty fee just to obtain a few dollars' refund, most patients will forgo making a claim.

An exception is made when a patient develops an allergy or adverse reaction to a drug, which must be certified by a physician for a presumably no-questions-asked refund. This is asking too much of a patient, especially when he needs extra treatment to correct his new problem.

I know of a new case where a costly, non-standard drug was given for a month, and the patient was hospitalised after two weeks due to side effects. The drug could not be returned because the three-day trial period was over.

The onus should be on hospitals to work harder with drug vendors to offer a simple credit (say, 50 per cent for legitimate returns) to help patients defray the cost of future prescriptions.

The drugs can then be disposed of safely, ensuring that accidents do not happen to needy patients intent on cutting down medical expenses by consuming an old drug before starting on a new one.

David Lam Yan Choon