Authorities will now order manufacturers to print the prices of drugs on packaging to prevent vendors from overcharging, according to the Internal Trade Department (ITD).
The price measure was announced after health advocacy groups complained the Ministry of Commerce has failed to control drug prices despite the 1999 Prices of Goods and Services Act.
The decision was reached by a panel looking at how to control drug prices and comes after patients complained of excessive charges, especially at private hospitals. The panel included the ITD, and other health agencies including the Food and Drug Administration and the Public Health Ministry.
The government will try to ensure drugs are not sold higher than their original price from the manufacturer, ITD chief Boonyarit Kalayanamit said yesterday. He said the measure might be hard to implement given the large number of drugs on the market. However, the government wanted to prevent hospitals and clinics from selling the drugs at an exorbitant cost.
"If they want to charge patients additional costs, they cannot include them in the drug prices," he said, adding that hospitals or clinics should instead state other service costs clearly on their bills.
The Public Health Ministry has to keep a watch on whether other costs are charged fairly, Mr Boonyarit said.
The ITD will ask the committee on goods and services to announce the price measure after manufacturers are informed, he said. Violators will be fined up to 100,000 baht and/or face a jail term up to five years, Mr Boonyarit said.
But drug prices by manufacturers must also be controlled, said Niyada Kiatying-Angsulee, a pharmacist and manager of the activist group Thai Drug Watch.
If not, drug firms can put whatever price they want on drugs, because the law does not force them to show a pricing structure, she said, adding that having many drugs on the market isn't a reason not to do it.