Senior Citizens' 20% Discount on Medicines

The 20% discount privilege for senior citizens in medicine is treated as a limited and exclusive benefit reserved for senior citizens.
Drug outlets must comply with the amended conditions to prevent abuse of the privilege.

A senior citizen is entitled to a minimum of twenty percent (20%) discount in the purchase of medicine for personal use and personal needs under Rule V (D).
To avail the 20% discount, the senior citizen must present a prescription and meet the circular’s documentary and record-keeping requirements.

A senior citizen must present a prescription by a professional medical practitioner for both prescription and non-prescription (over-the-counter or OTC) drugs to avail of the 20% discount.
The prescription requirement for OTC drugs is imposed to curb possible abuse of the privilege and to substantiate claims for tax credit to the BIR.
The prescription must include all usual details required by the prescription, including the name of the doctor, the doctor’s PTR No., the patient’s name, and the generic name of the medicine prescribed.

Only prescriptions that comply fully with the Generics Law are honored for the 20% senior citizen discount.

Senior citizens who cannot afford the consultation fee of a private doctor must consult at a government health center/hospital and obtain a prescription free of charge.

Any single dispensing under the discount privilege must not exceed one (1) week’s supply.
For convenience, the prescribing physician may indicate the number of refills, up to a maximum that results in one month supply.

Whether the medicine is prescription or OTC, drugstores must record, in a special record book for Senior Citizens Discount under R.A. 7432, the name, address, national I.D. No. of the senior citizen, the generic name of the drug/medicine, and the number of units dispensed.
Drugstores must maintain only one registered record book for this purpose.
The single registered record book is subject to inspection by both BFAD and BIR.

For partial filling, the drugstore pharmacist must record in the special record book the quantity partially filled and the unfilled balance on the prescription.
The senior citizen must retain the partially filled prescription and present it later to complete the prescribed quantity.
For record purposes, the drugstore that partially filled the prescription must obtain a copy (xerox) of the prescription.

Each individual senior citizen must have a personal record of availment of the discount privilege on a form to be provided by DSWD or OSCA.
This personal record requirement becomes effective July 1, 1994.

All drug outlets are enjoined to comply with the amended Rule V (D) requirements on prescription presentation, generics compliance, dispensing limits, and record-keeping.
FDRCs are instructed to report non-compliance where evidence of commission or omission warrants such reporting.

The circular is adopted on April 11, 1994 and signed by Quintin L. Kintanar, Director.