tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20257999.post7823549005659848130..comments2024-03-29T11:40:46.477+03:00Comments on Life in Israel: Medicine Gmach Shut DownRafi G.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00699851287106903971noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20257999.post-13268922037280029162012-05-31T18:28:16.068+03:002012-05-31T18:28:16.068+03:00Is the person who runs the gemach a pharmacist or ...Is the person who runs the gemach a pharmacist or doctor? Do they know the what the shelf life of various antibiotics is? Do they know the proper storage procedures for pharmaceuticals? This is far more complicated than a simple "well if someone else says it's okay, it must be". There's also the issue of how the gemach is getting their drugs. For things like antibiotics, if they're implicitly encouraging people to not take their full prescribed dose (so they can give the leftovers to the gemach), there is a serious public health risk.<br /><br />There is a reason this field is regulated and controlled. Stop being so frum that you think you're exempt from all the rules.Ari E-Bhttp://www.elias-bachrach.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20257999.post-50067815352396426752012-05-31T07:00:37.959+03:002012-05-31T07:00:37.959+03:00Oh Rafi, you and your American "fear" of...Oh Rafi, you and your American "fear" of death and maiming...Commenter Abbihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07753256568022159103noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20257999.post-43531359940153944482012-05-30T23:07:41.005+03:002012-05-30T23:07:41.005+03:00anonymous - nothign you write contradicts anything...anonymous - nothign you write contradicts anything I wrote. As a matter of fact, oru knowledge of the medicine gmachs seem to be pretty similar. I have used them (probably only once in the past 15 years, but used them nonetheless), and we have 2 on our block in RBS and probably another 2 with a 3 block radius of our house. I know how common they are.<br /><br />The fact that they are common changes nothing. Somebody not licensed to dispense medication is dispensing medicine. Without a prescription. (once the person is not licensed I doubt the lack of prescription makes a difference).<br /><br />you are right that my awe at the system is based on my American mindset. I can only imagine someone deciding which antibiotic he needs because it is late at night, or Shabbos. He assumes the dosage and assumes the effects. Maybe sometimes all is good and nothing happens.<br />What happens that one time when he takes the medicine and has a reaction, or takes the wrong dosage, or whatever. Doctors go to medical school to learn how to prescribe and take into account the various potential side-effects.<br /><br />So, again, most of the time hopefully nothing happens. What happens in the one case out of a thousand or ten thousand where someone gets very ill from the wrong medicine, not realizing a side-effect or understanding what side-effects he is prone to, etc.?<br /><br />It does not matter how common it is, or that the frum doctor says to get it from the medicine gmach. When somebody unlicensed is dispensing medicine, it is an accident waiting to happen.Rafi G.https://www.blogger.com/profile/00699851287106903971noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20257999.post-70503638315641609032012-05-30T22:04:28.720+03:002012-05-30T22:04:28.720+03:00The person who wrote this blog really doesn't ...<b><i>The person who wrote this blog really doesn't understand what a medicine gemach IS.</i></b><br /><br />The person who wrote that comment really doesn't understand the purpose of this blog or the person who compiles it.Darth Zeidahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11885872955106929227noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20257999.post-81328257038279107802012-05-30T21:59:29.908+03:002012-05-30T21:59:29.908+03:00This comment has been removed by the author.Darth Zeidahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11885872955106929227noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20257999.post-45481678551676548772012-05-30T19:27:50.676+03:002012-05-30T19:27:50.676+03:00Here in EY, medicine gemachim are very, very commo...Here in EY, medicine gemachim are very, very common. Whoever wrote this has a very American lawsuit mindset that just doesn't "fit" here. <br /><br />The person who wrote this blog really doesn't understand what a medicine gemach IS. A medicine gemach is used when you have a prescription or can get one in the morning for a medicine that you have either run out of or got a prescription for but it was too late to have it filled or some other such thing. There is no problem with worrying about someone getting sick or having a reaction because the person who has the gemach is not prescribing anything and she [or he] is not just giving out medicines to someone like a pharmacist would, she is just giving someone something they need to tide them over until the morning [or until after Shabbos or chag]. <br /><br />Doctors here frequently tell people after hours to go to a medicine gemach to get various meds and the gemach generally requires either a prescription or money as a deposit until you can replace the medicine. It is not just a place to get free medicine. They will take unused medicine that is closed and unused and still within its use-by date.<br /><br />It seems that the person in the article was doing more than running a medicine gemach; it seems that he [or she] was filling prescriptions for other people instead of their filling them themselves, so it may be that they felt that fraud was involved.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com