Watsons embarks on antibiotic compliance program

MANILA, Philippines - Self-medication with antibiotics, which practice is prevalent in the Philippines, gives rise to antibiotic-resistant illnesses also known as “superbugs,” said pharmacy chain Watsons.

Watsons Pharmacy recently launched phase two of its “antibiotic compliance program” to help patients with their medication requirements.                                                        

Lyle Joseph Morrell, Watsons director for Health Business Unit, said there is a high degree of self-medication in the Philippines which increases the risk of patients developing resistance to antibiotics.                                                           

“The reason for that is economic. People would just go to the drugstore and buy medicines and be relieved of what they feel rather than go to a doctor and spend more,” he said.       

He said the inaccessibility of doctors in remote areas and the practice of some drugstores to sell prescription medicines even without prescription is also causing patients to self-medicate.                                                                                          

“It is dangerous because they may not be taking the right medications for the right indications. Eventually, the medicines will no longer be effective on you,” Morrell said. Bacterial resistance, he said, is developed because of antibiotic overuse, under use, or non-completion of the treatment course.                                                                               

“If you have an infection, you take the antibiotic and you start making the bacteria weak. But if you don’t complete it, you fail to give the knockout punch. The bacteria become more powerful because it knows already how to fight the antibiotic. The bacteria will read how the antibiotic works and learn to fight it,” Morrell said.

To fight drug resistance, Watsons has recently come up with “basic health packs” containing “widely-prescribed antibiotic” for community-acquired bacterial infection, which is caught from “moving around the community or interacting with people or being subjected to severe weather conditions.”

“These are your usual tonsilitis, bronchitis, pneumonia, and then for other people who are prone to urinary tract infection. But these are all caused by bacterial infection,” Morrell said.

Each pack contains antibiotic products from pharmaceutical firm Unilab according to the full course of treatment.              

He said each pack is priced 40 to 60 percent lower than the multinational brand, and 10 to 15 percent lesser if the antibiotic is sold on retail basis.

Morrell said the packs also contain information material on antibiotic use.                                                               

“Compliance is our key advocacy. Watsons is trying to be different. More than dispensing the product, we believe we would like to offer more value added services by way of giving health and wellness information as well as offer other services,” he said. 

Watsons launched phase 1 of the program last year but it focused on chronic illnesses like diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol.

Watsons managing director Maria Victoria Encarnacion said the company is also expanding this year by putting up more than 40 pharmacy and personal care outlets across the country.

“Watsons is known as your personal store. Everything you need – whether it’s for beauty, personal care or health – we have that. Our trust now is expansion,” she said.

Encarnacion said the company is growing at a fast rate. Since Watsons started operations in the Philippines in 2002, it now has 250 stores nationwide.

“We feel it is still too little to cater to the needs of our target markets. When a new mall is being established or expanding, we always get invited to put up a store there. But we are not limited to malls, we also have stand-alone stores,” she said.