Are pharmacies Tanzania's most dangerous convenience stores? And What the health sector can learn from Banks.

Think about this: In Tanzania, getting antibiotics is easier than opening a bank account. No questions asked. No prescriptions needed. No medical history required.

Just walk in, point at what you want, and walk out with medicines that are strictly controlled in other countries.

And this is what hit me – we've created a healthcare system where convenience trumps safety, where quick fixes trump proper care, and where we're sitting on a time bomb of medical consequences.

This isn't just a story about easy access to medicines. It's about how we accidentally built the world's most dangerous convenience store, and what we can learn from an unlikely teacher: the banking sector.

Last week, I made two observations that shocked me:

• I haven't stepped into a bank in more than 6 months
• The busiest pharmacy in Dar doesn’t ask for prescriptions (Still shocks me despite being a normal in Tanzania)

Remember bank queues from 2018? The endless waiting, the transport costs, the "come back tomorrow" conversations? Sounds exactly like hospitals today.

But here's where healthcare took a dangerous shortcut:

1. Banks solved queues with apps and agents (wakala). Healthcare? We've accidentally created a free-for-all at pharmacy counters.

The math is simple: Hospital visit = 4 hours + transport + consultation fee + uncertainty Pharmacy visit = 5 minutes + exact medicine cost + instant solution

2. The Banking Lesson We (in healthcare) Missed is, Banks didn't fight digital transformation - they led it. Their buildings got fancier while their services got more digital. 

Meanwhile in healthcare:

• Hospitals are becoming fancier but resist digital transformation
• Doctors see telemedicine as extra work

And you can’t really blame hospitals and doctors. Payment incentives only work for physical visits. 

3. The Scary Part Nobody Talks About Here's what keeps pharmacists (but they won't tell you):

• That "simple" cough medicine you bought? It masked pneumonia for 2 weeks
• Your "usual" antibiotics? They're breeding superbugs in your body
• That pain medication? It's hiding a condition that's getting worse

Think about this: The same medicines that require strict prescriptions in Europe and America are sold over-the-counter here. Are we a dumping site for pharmaceutical profits? – I think so.         

4. The Silent Killer Antimicrobial resistance sounds complex, so let me make it personal:

• Your child's future ear infection might be untreatable
• Your next UTI could require hospitalization
• Common surgeries might become too risky

Why? Because we're creating superbugs through unchecked self-medication.

The Solution Is Staring Us in the Face. Banks didn't eliminate branches or physical banking - They made them last resorts. That's what healthcare needs:

• Telemedicine for primary care to make it easy to access care. (your banking App)
• Digital prescriptions (your healthcare transaction)
• Pharmacies as regulated points (your healthcare wakala)
• Hospitals as last resorts for what really needs in-person care. 

But here's the difference: If your banking app fails, you lose money. If your healthcare choices fail, you lose your health.

Don't get me wrong though. In-person care would still be the gold standard. But let’s face it. How many doctors do we have to employ to achieve that? – 60,000. Sixty thousand doctors!! How many do we have now? You and I both know the reality. 

To policymakers: You regulated banking for consumer protection. Healthcare needs the same. To doctors: Digital transformation isn't your enemy - it's your ally against dangerous self-medication. To patients: Convenience of pharmacies shouldn't cost you your health.

Because unlike a bank transaction, you almost always can't reverse a health mistake.