Health Minister Abdullah Nazim Ibrahim has stated that work will be done to create a registry of people who are on medication for chronic illnesses as a solution to medication issues.

Responding to a question at the "Ahaa" forum, a series of public Q&A sessions with ministers, Minister Nazim said that some medications for chronic illnesses are not generally available without a doctor's prescription.

"As a long-term policy to find a permanent solution to this, one of the most important things we've started doing is to maintain a registry of people on medication for chronic illnesses in every island, and to establish a system where these medications can be obtained from health facilities. This is what we're currently planning and implementing," the Minister said.

The Minister stated that creating this registry is the solution to resolve medication issues for people with chronic illnesses in the atolls. He noted that medications for chronic conditions are prescribed for specific periods, and patients face difficulties when they need to consult doctors again and obtain new prescriptions.

"The aim is to make it mandatory for patients to visit doctors. So, I don't think this issue can be fully resolved unless we maintain this registry and establish a system to provide these medications through health facilities. That's the direction in which we're shaping our policies," the Minister said.

Nazim further explained that the first step in this process is to make the health facility responsible for providing medication to patients after they are admitted to hospitals in Male' City and regional hospitals. Previously, it was the responsibility of the patient's family or guardian to obtain medications from available sources after admission.