Pharmacies asking for IC numbers

[BedokAmerican]

I hope someone can shed some light on this:

Sometimes when I've gone to a pharmacy (Guardian or Watson's) and asked for something behind the counter, the pharmacist will just take it out of the cabinet and give it to me. Other times, I get asked for my IC and they'll enter it in their system. Same medication, different experiences.

One time I had to show my IC/FIN and answer a series of questions in order to get something very minor and the guy working at the pharmacy had to do a video conference with someone off site in order to give me what I wanted to buy. Another time at another pharmacy, the same product was just given to me when I asked for it.

Is there a policy per product or is it up to the individual working the counter whether you should be "checked?" What is done with this information they collect on people?

[sundaymorningstaple]

If it's a controlled item (which doesn't necessarily mean prescriptive) then they should be taking down names and NRIC/FIN numbers. Whether or not they do is another story. They take names & numbers for chewing gum though!

[BedokAmerican]

Ok, that makes sense. But what is done with the information on people that is entered into a computer? Does it just sit in a database or does it go somewhere?

[Addadude]

From very recent experience (last week), my Significant Other had to produce her IC when purchasing Procodeine. The pharmacist entered in her IC details to check the last time she had purchased a bottle from them. This was the Guardian pharmacy in Vivo. They seem to be very cautious about the frequency of of individuals purchasing such items.

[Sergei82]

They take names & numbers for chewing gum though!

In case you choke on it?

[BedokAmerican]

From very recent experience (last week), my Significant Other had to produce her IC when purchasing Procodeine. The pharmacist entered in her IC details to check the last time she had purchased a bottle from them. This was the Guardian pharmacy in Vivo. They seem to be very cautious about the frequency of of individuals purchasing such items.

My first thought would be for someone buying a lot of the same stuff to shop at different pharmacies, but Watson's and Guardian are both owned by Dairy Farm Group, which also owns Cold Storage & Giant. Maybe computers are interconnected. (Of course, there are NTUC pharmacies and probably other non-Dairy Farm pharmacies as well.)

http://www.dairyfarmgroup.com/companies/overview

Anyway, kind of odd that Guardian and Watson's are positioned very close to one another in some shopping malls.

[Beeroclock]

Wow I didn't know that, thought they were competitors! This company really has a huge dominance in the retailing here, i wonder how many ct in every dollar get spent at dairyfarmgroup

[JR8]

Watson's and Guardian are both owned by Dairy Farm Group, which also owns Cold Storage & Giant.
...
Anyway, kind of odd that Guardian and Watson's are positioned very close to one another in some shopping malls.

Well I had to chuckle over my cornflakes at that one, after all it is so plausible it feels true But alas, it is not...

Guardian is owned by Dairy Farm Group, a subsidiary of Jardines*.
http://www.jardines.com/group-companies ... tegic.html

-------------------
'Watsons is owned by Hong Kong-listed A.S. Watson Group, a Hutchison Whampoa company.'
http://www.watsons.com.sg/websg/CompanyInformation.do
-------------------

* Who also own Jasons, Cold Storage, Giant, 7-11. i.e. apart from NTUC pretty much everything...

[BedokAmerican]

Sorry about that. My mistake. I must have misread something late last night before going to sleep.

But with the Cold Storage and Giant issue, the prices and products can be vastly different at times, even being owned by the same company.

[JR8]

IKEA Hong Kong and Taiwan are owned by Dairy Farm too.

Hey I never knew that IKEA is a franchise. I wonder who owns IKEA Singapore, Temasek maybe?

[JR8]

Meanwhile one from the archives, in reply to a newbie thinking they had to declare their entire pill-cabinet, pack by pack...


----------------------------------------
'Are you really sure you have a declare a pack or two of that [Asparin complex]?

Put another way it was not so long ago I was at the pharmacy counter at Guardian/Watsons in Ngee Ann City and two real ocker Aussie guys in front of me were schmoozing the pharmacist as she bagged up certainly 1000 pseudephedrine tablets for them. This took a long while and as I remarked in passing to them 'Jeez you guys must have really bad congestion'. One turned around, a sun-blasted 50 years old's face on a 30 year old and said 'Yes, allergies, really bad'.

Before they'd paid and left they'd invited the pharmacist and several random women in the queue and shop to a party they were hosting that night.

Really I think your pack of Asprin'+' is not going to figure on the radar'
------------------------------------------
http://forum.singaporeexpats.com/ptopic83802.html

[taxico]

I hope someone can shed some light on this:

Sometimes when I've gone to a pharmacy (Guardian or Watson's) and asked for something behind the counter, the pharmacist will just take it out of the cabinet and give it to me. Other times, I get asked for my IC and they'll enter it in their system. Same medication, different experiences.

One time I had to show my IC/FIN and answer a series of questions in order to get something very minor and the guy working at the pharmacy had to do a video conference with someone off site in order to give me what I wanted to buy. Another time at another pharmacy, the same product was just given to me when I asked for it.

Is there a policy per product or is it up to the individual working the counter whether you should be "checked?" What is done with this information they collect on people?

i am not a pharmacist, nor have i studied... um, pharmaceutical science (?). i, however, interact with pharmacists quite often.

items on the pharmacy only or prescription only medication list requires furnishing of additional info before a sale can take place. stuff outside the pharmacist's counter do not require such information...

there is a list of such medications on HSA's website. the video conference thing is probably a junior (?) pharmacist calling up a pharmacist for confirmation. manpower NO enough?

how this "mandatory" recording of information took place among the different pharmacists you went to, i cannot comment upon.

[taxico]

IKEA Hong Kong and Taiwan are owned by Dairy Farm too.

Hey I never knew that IKEA is a franchise. I wonder who owns IKEA Singapore, Temasek maybe?

ikano pte ltd. they also operate ikea malaysia and ikea thailand. i think they are owned indirectly by the founder's empire... (ikea)

[x9200]

There is some No of chemicals that fall under the category drugs/narcotics precoursors. These are controlled substances (SMS mentioned it at the begining). Some of the medicines mentioned in this thread definitely contain such chemicals.

I.e.:
http://www.cnb.gov.sg/precursorcontrol/ ... nnexa.aspx
http://www.cnb.gov.sg/precursorcontrol/ ... nnexb.aspx

[ecureilx]

IKEA Hong Kong and Taiwan are owned by Dairy Farm too.

Hey I never knew that IKEA is a franchise. I wonder who owns IKEA Singapore, Temasek maybe?

ikano pte ltd. they also operate ikea malaysia and ikea thailand. i think they are owned indirectly by the founder's empire... (ikea)

ikano is IKEA themselves as I was told by the then top chef of their SG op.