Health authorities have tightened controls on the sale of prescription drugs at Bahrain's main hospital.

The new measures come after scores of patients have been caught taking drugs at higher dosages than prescribed to them or medication that did not belong to them, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

The Health Ministry said patients and visitors have to provide identification cards at Salmaniya Medical Complex's pharmacy to receive any drugs, adding the move aimed to streamline the dispensing procedure.

Well-placed sources told the GDN that there have been several incidents of "fake prescriptions" being presented to pharmacists.

"There were cases where prescriptions were given to patients without proper identification and this could curb such practices."

"This is not a new procedure - it always existed, but the SMC administration was lean with patients on this procedure," said an SMC spokeswoman .

"Of late, we have had incidents of patients and visitors procuring medicines either in large quantities or on behalf of someone else.

"This is not acceptable as per the regulation that demands the person's identity, which aims at patients' safety and their protection.

"It may be risky as in some cases the patient may not be clear on the procedures of taking the medicines, while in some other cases, it could lead to patients getting their hands on the wrong prescription.

"The pharmacist checks the prescription and identifies the details of the patient in terms of his or her ailment before giving the medicine, which is part of the patient safety system.

"So to ensure this, we have alerted the public - patients and visitors - that it is mandatory that they produce their valid personal identity card at the pharmacy to get their medicines."

Well-placed sources told the GDN that there have been several incidents of "fake prescriptions" being presented to pharmacists.

"There were cases, where prescriptions were given to patients without proper identification and this could prove a good move to curb such practices." - TradeArabia News Service