Possiblity of sending medinince sent by post to Switzerland

40POSTS

11 years ago

Hello all,
There's a new medicine called Tas-102 which helps cancer patients. It was recommended by a doctor to my father and I need it in Switzerland. Currently this medicine is available only in Japan. I'm not aware of the Japanese system and medicine.
Is it possible to send a prescription by post and have the medicine sent to Switzerland?
Is it a must to present a Japanese prescription in order to obtain Tas-102?
Is it possible anyway to send medicine out of Japan by post?

Or tell me please, what I need to do in order to get it.

Many thanks to you for your cooperation on that.

Take care..

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pinkcookie Member

16POSTS

11 years ago

Japan is very strict with their drug laws, and it has been my experience that most medication need to be prescribed by a Japanese doctor in order to be filled. Even then, it is difficult to get specialized medicine ( a friend of mine had a head injury that left her temporarily blind and needing surgery. The strongest medication she was able to get was a form of Motrin, even while hospitalized). Would you be able to travel to Japan to see a doctor or specialist here, in order to get the prescription?

http://japanhealthinfo.com/faq/can-i-us … scription/

Keep.it.simple Active member

40POSTS

11 years ago

Thanks a lot pinkcookie for the answer.
If I travel to Japan without my father ( the patient) with his detailed report of medical history and his prof.'s prescription of that Japanese medicine "Tas-102" would it be possible to see a doctor in Japan? So she/he would prescribe the medicine, so I can buy it.

My father's prof. recommend it and he knows it's hard to get.
So, the question is. Is it essential that the patient must be present in order to obtain a prescription? or I can go on his behalf and get it?

Thank you very much for your assistance..

1 member reacted to this post

James ViP

11272POSTS

11 years ago

Not only are you going to have to figure out a way to get the medication, but you need to also find out if it is even approved or legal in Switzerland. It serves little going through all the trouble of obtaining the drug only to find out it is not approved or worse still illegal there. You should check with whatever government agency in Switzerland is responsible for drug approval first. You could unwittingly end up being charged criminally and being treated like a drug trafficker. It's not just like importing a cheap cellular phone from abroad.

Cheers,
James Expat-blog Experts Team

2 members reacted to this post

pinkcookie Member

16POSTS

11 years ago

Keep.it.simple wrote:
Thanks a lot pinkcookie for the answer.
If I travel to Japan without my father ( the patient) with his detailed report of medical history and his prof.'s prescription of that Japanese medicine "Tas-102" would it be possible to see a doctor in Japan? So she/he would prescribe the medicine, so I can buy it.

My father's prof. recommend it and he knows it's hard to get.
So, the question is. Is it essential that the patient must be present in order to obtain a prescription? or I can go on his behalf and get it?

Thank you very much for your assistance..

From my personal experience, I believe he'll have to be here. Medication is tightly regulated. I couldn't even pick up a prescription for my husband without him being present! However, it might be worth it if you could get a list of providers in Japan from your insurance company, and perhaps contact the doctors here directly. Explain your situation and see if you can forward his medical history. He may only have to fly out to Japan once for a consult to get the prescription. Best of luck to you! If I come across any relevant information, I'll be sure to post it here.

1 member reacted to this post

Keep.it.simple Active member

40POSTS

11 years ago

pinkcookie wrote:
Keep.it.simple wrote:
Thanks a lot pinkcookie for the answer.
If I travel to Japan without my father ( the patient) with his detailed report of medical history and his prof.'s prescription of that Japanese medicine "Tas-102" would it be possible to see a doctor in Japan? So she/he would prescribe the medicine, so I can buy it.

My father's prof. recommend it and he knows it's hard to get.
So, the question is. Is it essential that the patient must be present in order to obtain a prescription? or I can go on his behalf and get it?

Thank you very much for your assistance..

From my personal experience, I believe he'll have to be here. Medication is tightly regulated. I couldn't even pick up a prescription for my husband without him being present! However, it might be worth it if you could get a list of providers in Japan from your insurance company, and perhaps contact the doctors here directly. Explain your situation and see if you can forward his medical history. He may only have to fly out to Japan once for a consult to get the prescription. Best of luck to you! If I come across any relevant information, I'll be sure to post it here.

Really thanks for your time Pinkcookie and efforts. I'll take your advice. Much appreciate it.