dimanche 4 novembre 2018

HOW INDIA SAVED MY BURMESE BROTHER KO MMMT

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HOW INDIA SAVED MY BURMESE BROTHER KO MMMT

Ko is the affectionate way of addressing your brother, younger one, in the Burmese way. I have Burmese connection (please read Amitav Ghosh’s excellent book THE GLASS PALACE to learn the background) and it was Ko MM that bestowed upon me an auspicious Burmese name, AUNG KHANT.
While on my first ever visit to Siem Reap which was no more than a village at that time, my middle brother Eliyahu and I stayed at the Tah Prohm hotel in the centre of town and when we walked out, our eyes  caught  the sign THE MANDALAY INN.
I went in and introduced myself and of my Burmese connection and instantly we became friends and later brothers.
I can honestly say that Ko MM is the reason for my frequent visits to Siem Reap, even though I have visited the main attraction, The Angkor Ruins, the largest archeological ruins in the world, many times. It was here also that I met my best friend in SE Asia, MYC, in 2008 and our friendship remains strong to this day. My American Indian friends M and A, as well as Mitexi have stayed with Ko MM, and my sister friend, that indefatigable nurse to the Yakama, have stayed here as well. There have been other visitors as well.
It is customary for me to visit Siem Reap twice a year, I checked my passport and since 2014, I have 8 visas stamped on my passport!

Few years ago, I received a call from Ko MM. He has been having vague abdominal symptoms and wanted to discuss with me what has been happening.
In another blog I have written about his trials and tribulations of getting appropriate Medical Care living in this part of the world, where the capitalistic drive of medical care and pharma care is rather stark and bordering on cruelty.

The doctors in Phnom Penh did an upper and lower endoscopy and viola, nothing was found. But they did notice an elevation of white blood corpuscles. No one Cambodia had an expertise in Haematology at that time, so my brother sought a well-known hospital in Thailand, in Bangkok, which is a short ride away from here.
After multiple days of testing, including bone marrow biopsy and CAT scans etc., a diagnosis of a treatable blood disorder was given. The cost of diagnosis was about 26,000 dollars, all payable in Cash. He is an hotelier and rather professional and was doing well with his hotel and tour business and was in a position to pay at that time.
Then came the catch: the medication that would CURE (control indefinitely) this disorder was available in Thailand but the cost per pill was 150 dollars (in the USA it is about 250 dollars per pill, to the total of 140 000 dollars per year).
As soon as I could I planned a trip to Siem Reap, as I am based in Havana in Cuba and Miami in USA, both about 15 000 km away.
When medical matters above my competency (I am a specialist physician in Endocrinology) is presented to me, I seek out my brother and friend (and a fellow foodie traveller) Dr. MW.
We discussed the results and we sought out our colleague at our alma mater JMH, Dr. JH, of the illustrious H hematology family. We discussed the case in detail and I am very grateful for the advice and time of both Drs. MW and JH.
The science and diagnosis was confirmed and the treatment set in place.
But the cost?


I put in a call to a friend who has some pharmacy connections in Bangalore in India. He said that medication is available in India but undergoing litigation because the parent company was suing the Indian manufacturers for breeching patent. But the Indian lawyers brilliantly argued in front of the Supreme Court that this medication, which is marketed under another name and slightly, modified chemical formula, was already out of patent and had been marketed in the past. To the relief of not only myself and but many others, Supreme Court of India sided with the Indian manufacturers and the medications would continue to be sold in India.
The cost of the medication which sells from 100 to 250 dollars per pill in SE Asian and European countries, were selling in INDIA, for 1744 Indian rupees per 10 tablets, i.e. under THREE DOLLARS A PILL.
My hard working Burmese brother, who worked himself from being a low position in the Hotel Industry to own his own boutique hotel in another country, a loving father and husband, he has two sons and one daughter, now could receive the medication for under 5 dollars a pill, delivered to his home in Siem Reap!

Dr. MW occasionally asks about him and I know that Dr. JH at JMH in Miami would always be willing to offer professional advice.
My Burmese Brother, Ko MM, found a competent haematologist in Singapore where he travels to on a regular basis for check up and he gladly informs me that on his last visit, all the laboratory and physical examinations were good with no evidence of any hematological dysfunction.
THANK YOU INDIA ..
During my travels, I come across several stories of poor countries charging very high prices for their medications when acceptable and therapeutically correct medications are available from INDIA..
Why does a country like JAMAICA rely on expensive medications from the USA when they can get similar medication at a fraction of the cost from India?  I hope the African countries are listening. INDIA is good at manufacturing medications (CHINA is not) and we can safely import medications from INDIA.
On this trip to Fort Cochin, I stopped by TARA MEDICALS whose owners have known me for a while. They have a copy of my medical license on file.
Someone I know in Miami, who has very good medical insurance coverage, has been prescribed a blood pressure medication, Nebivolol 5mg per day.  However good his insurance coverage is, they do not cover this medication, which he could obtain for about a dollar per day from his pharmacy. In INDIA, it is sold for 10 rupees per pill (13 cents US)!
Most people in USA can afford ten cents a pill to stave off the complications of Hypertension but not one dollar per pill!
WHO IS TO BLAME?
Who is to be thankful for?  INDIA
THANK YOU, INDIA, IN ALL OF YOUR 23 OFFICIAL LANGUAGES..
Both myself and Dr. MW are Jewish and we have a concept of MITZVAH, the desire to do something for other people and also as doctors we feel part of the Jewish concept of TIKKUN OLAM, to heal the world (in more than just physical fashion).
Thanks to INDIA, we were able to do a MITZVAH
To help the deserving, hard working Burmese brother of mine, Ko MM

YESU TIN BA DE




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