Health Minister Zane DeSilva should provide more detail about plans to bring in generic drugs from Brazil, India and Israel, according to the One Bermuda Alliance.Mr DeSilva tabled the Pharmacy and Poisons (Designation of Approved Countries) Order 2011 on June 17 in a bid to drive down healthcare costs. The order, which came into force on July 1, allows prescription drugs to be imported from Brazil, India and Israel for the first time.However, legislation to ensure the medicine meets international best practice manufacturing standards is unlikely to come into effect until the end of the year.There has been concern that the new order could allow counterfeit drugs into Bermuda and it has met with strong opposition from pharmaceutical experts.And today Dr Katherine Michelmore, Shadow Minister for Health urged Mr DeSilva to answer a series of concerns.The One Bermuda Alliance has three main concerns:* Can the Minister explain why he chose to expand the drugs import list without consulting the Pharmacy Inspector or the Bermuda Pharmaceutical Association?* There is a strange gap in the Minister's statement supporting his move to expand the list of countries from which drugs may be imported. He cited “Major drug companies such as Merck, GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer and others (that) have manufacturing facilities in India.”But those companies' products are already available to Bermuda through a pre-existing list of designated import countries. They are brand-name companies and are not producing the generic medications that Mr DeSilva says he wants for Bermuda. The Minister must provide Bermuda with sound information about his plan because right now, on the basis of what he has said, it does not add up.* Mr DeSilva said ‘Mr and Mrs Bermuda' can save up to $2,000 a month using generic drugs. But he provides no evidence to back up the statement. What cost analysis has he used to put forward such a figure? And so we ask him to provide Mr. and Mrs. Bermuda with his cost analysis to support his claim.Dr Michelmore added: “And so we return to our original questions: Why has Mr DeSilva moved without consulting industry stakeholders, and why is he so resistant to sensible suggestions to hold off on expansion until greater controls are in place.“There is every reason to proceed with care in this area. Care and protection of our people is the first priority and it is vital we do so through careful planning and consultation.“Mr DeSilva's initiative, as it stands, leaves important questions and concerns unanswered. He needs to assure Bermuda that he is exercising all the due diligence that this important issue demands.”