Pharmacy brokers deceiving unsuspecting patients

Whenever I pass the Bhola Sadar Hospital, I always spot a group of young men waiting near the hospital. They are actually brokers who pretend to be good Samaritans, ready to help out new patients coming to the hospital. They usually help during the procedure of admission and find a suitable bed or cabin.

After doing all these, they gain the trust of the patient and the family. This is when they take the patient's family members to pharmacies of their choice. These pharmacies already have an arrangement with the broker/s. They pay a commission to the brokers for finding new customers. More than often, these pharmacies provide low quality medicines at high prices. Most unsuspecting family members of patients do not understand that they are being duped. Patients from different areas of Bhola district have been facing such frauds for a long time now.

I hope that the administration will take necessary steps to stop these illegal activities.

Md. Ariful Islam

Department of Sociology,

University of Barishal.

[email protected]