Bridging the Gap: Effective Communication and Disclosure in Halal Pharmaceutical Practices

The Halal status of pharmaceutical goods for the Muslims is inevitably necessary. The laws of Malaysia do not impose any sanctions for the non-compliance of this status for the producers of pharmaceutical goods but there exists an obligation on the part of medical practitioners to disclose the Halal status of the medicine used for the purpose of the patient’s treatment albeit no direct mandatory requirement made by the law. This article explores the extent of effective communication in the light of disclosure made by medical practitioners to their Muslim patients of the Halal status of the medicines used for their treatment. In addition, the law regarding duty to inform is looked at to determine its adequacy with regard to the disclosure of the medicines Halal status. This writing was a qualitative study focusing on the duty to inform and ordinary practice by medical practitioners to reveal the Halal status of the medicines applied to the patients. Seventeen doctors, three dentists and four registered pharmacists from several hospitals and other health institutions in several states in Malaysia were interviewed to reach the objectives of this paper. Doctrinal research was also applied to gather data from library research and internet resources. The finding showed that all doctors admitted that there are no guidelines from Ministry of Health to mandatorily disclose of the Halal status of the medicines. The hospitals were also seen to have different approaches to reveal the medicine Halal status to their Muslim patients. This study is hoped to contribute to the existence of a specific rule to regulate the practice of disclosure of Halal status of the medicines in the Malaysian health institutions.