Expensive medicines prescribed by doctors have always been the main reason why some people do not buy drugs for their ailments or do not complete an entire treatment course.

This has always been the case with Aling Melinda, a government employee who suffers from diabetes and its complications.

“Hangga’t kaya naman, hindi na ako bumibili, tinitiis ko na lang. Minsan naman, nagtatanong-tanong ako kung ano’ng pwedeng gamiting herbal o nagbabawas na lang ng kinakain,” shares Aling Melinda.

Pero ngayon, afford na niyang bumili ng maintenance drugs niya dahil may mga generic alternative na ang inirereseta sa kanya ni doc. Marami na ring nabibilihan ng generic drugs ngayon. 

In fact, generics drugstores have sprouted like mushrooms all over the country.

This is attributed to the enactment in 2008 of the “Universally Accessible Cheaper and Quality Medicines Law” o mas kilala bilang cheaper medicines law. 

One of the hallmarks of this law is to allow the importation of more and higher quality generics medicines, na alternative sa mas mahal na branded medicines.

In the past, the public had doubts about the quality of these drugs.

May mga balita kasi noon na expired na at nire-repack lang ang mga imported na generic drugs.

May mga nagrereklamo ring parang gawgaw lang o walang bisa ang mga nabili nilang gamot.

Six years after the law was implemented, more Filipinos have accepted the use of generic medicines.

Sa isang survey ng Social Weather Stations (SWS), mas marami nang bumibili ng generic drugs nung 2008, kumpara nung 2003. Five or 6 out of 10 Filipinos trust generic medicines.

Sa assessment na ginawa ng gobyerno about the law nung 2011, lumalabas din na 65% ang awareness level tungkol sa generic medicines ng mga nakatira sa Greater Manila Area, 48% naman sa Luzon, habang 53% naman sa Visayas at Mindanao.

Pinaalalahanan naman ng DOH ang mga nagtitinda ng generic medicines na kumuha lang ng mga gamot sa mga lehitimong kumpanya.

Meanwhile, the Health Department is also set to review its list of drugs, whose prices have been slashed in 2008 to make them more affordable, to find out if more reductions and more drugs need to be added to the list.

“Yung mga gamot na napababa noong maipatupad ang batas, baka kailangan pang bumaba,” according to DOH Acting Secretary Janette Garin.

September has been designated as Generics Awareness Month in the country.