Pharmacists will take over dispensing of HIV medication

According to the National Health Information and Surveillance Unit, there are three hundred and eighty-one HIV positive Belizeans undergoing anti-retroviral therapy. In fulfilment of a 2004 government promise, that medication is provided free of charge … and while that is not about to change, the way the medication is distributed is. Director of the National AIDS Programme, Dr. Marvin Manzanero, explains.

Dr. Marvin Manzanero, Director, National AIDS Programme
?The intention is for all pharmacists to get training so that they can eventually be dispensing medication through the pharmacy. Because as it is now, medication is being dispensed through the VCT centres, which are the thirteen sites that we have throughout the country. But it?s not being dispensed through the pharmacists from the regional hospitals, which is eventually the intention with people getting training today.?

Kendra Griffith, Reporting
?Why do you all want to change the way it is being dispensed??

Dr. Marvin Manzanero
?Well because that provides security. Pharmacists are a little bit more trained from their background as regarding looking for side effects, the way it is supposed to be given, with food, without food, those kinds of things … that?s more a pharmacist?s role than actually a nurse?s role.?

?Just like with any other healthcare worker, nurses, physicians, pharmacists; the confidentiality issue has to be there. Just like that are dispensing medication for other sexually transmitted diseases, for tuberculosis, for example, the same thing can be the case for ARV?s, there should be no reason why we should break that confidentiality issue with the patient.?

Over twenty-five pharmacists are participating in the four-day workshop, which is being held in conjunction with PAHO. The new method for dispensing anti-retroviral medication will be tested in a pilot phase before it is fully adopted next year.