PHILIPSBURG:--- Recently there has been speculation that SZV has been changing the policy on medications and forcing its clients to accept these changes.
The laws relevant to the importation and distribution of medication are the "Landsverordening op de geneesmiddelenvoorziening (AB 2013, GT no. 749)"; the "Landsbesluit HAM ter uitvoering van art. 32 van de Landsverordening op de geneesmiddelenvoorziening (AB 2013, GT no. 225)"; the "Landsbesluit verpakte geneesmiddelen (AB 2013, GT no. 98)" and the "Landsbesluit HAM vergoeding kosten geneesmiddelen (AB 2013, GT no. 536)". These laws have been in place since 1960 with various adaptations taking place over the years during the time of the Netherlands Antilles and were executed by the then SVB. Since 10-10-10 these laws were adopted by Country St. Maarten and as such SZV is executing these laws accordingly. It should be noted that SZV does not create laws, this is the jurisdiction of Government. SZV only executes the law as established by Government.
In short, the Inspectorate of Public Health of country St. Maarten has a registration committee for pharmaceuticals in place that evaluate efficacy, quality and safety of all medications. By law all medications are supposed to be registered and persons need to have licenses and registration before they are able to import any medication. This means that all approved medications are safe for use by patients.
Once a medication is registered and available on the island, SZV covers the generic version of that medication. As was stated before, this system has always been in place and has not changed. The name brand versions of the (generic) medications will then no longer be covered by SZV - unless a valid medical indication is submitted by a health care provider that the client should receive the name brand medication.
A generic medication is drug product that is comparable to brand/reference listed drug product in dosage form, strength, route of administration, quality and performance characteristics, and intended use. These medications are mostly marketed under its chemical name without advertising. Generic medications are subject to the regulations of the governments of countries where they are dispensed. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), generic medications are identical or within an acceptable bioequivalent (= a value indicating the rate at which a substance enters the bloodstream and becomes available to the body) range to the brand-name counterpart with respect to pharmacokinetic (what the body does to the medication) and pharmacodynamics (what the medication does to the body) properties. Therefore, generics are considered (by the FDA) identical in dose, strength, route of administration, safety, efficacy, and intended use.
The SZV urges clients to execute their rights and inquire with their family Physician and/ or Pharmacists when in doubt about medications or any other form of treatment. An informative pamphlet will soon be available to all SZV clients at the medical windows, explaining in detail what are generic and brand medications.
