The use of medicine is an integral part of maintaining health and healing, but care must be taken in its use. Misuse of drugs or the use of inappropriate doses will actually cause new health problems. The practice of unwise and irrational drug use has become a worldwide problem, including in Indonesia. One of the problems that is now a major concern is the problem of immunity or antimicrobial resistance.

Dra. Engko Sosialine M., Apt., M. Bio Med, Director General of Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices was a guest speaker at the Selamat Pagi Indonesia program on July 30, 2019 on one of the private television stations with the theme “Cerdas Menggunakan Obat” which discussed the use of drugs wisely and intelligently.

Drugs circulating in the market today can be easily obtained by the public and some are traded freely without a doctor's prescription. For minor illnesses, such as headaches and coughs and colds, it is not uncommon for people to self-medicate by buying over-the-counter drugs on the market. People's efforts to treat themselves are known as self-medication.

Self-medication should not be done using hard drugs, because these drugs can only be obtained with a doctor's prescription. Antibiotics include hard drugs whose purchase and use must use a doctor's prescription. So in the practice of self-medication, antibiotics should not be used.

The danger arising from the use of antibiotics and has become a global problem today is bacterial resistance to antibiotics. Giving antibiotics not according to indications or clinical needs (irrational) instead of curing, but instead can harm yourself and others. Antibiotics will cause bacteria to become resistant which can spread quickly to others. This resistant bacteria can cause death, if it cannot be treated with all types of antibiotics available. In addition, there is also a waste of money.

Self-medication can be done by using drugs that are obtained/purchased without a doctor's prescription either at pharmacies or licensed drug stores, namely over-the-counter drugs and limited over-the-counter drugs. Before using over-the-counter drugs, we must carefully read the information on the drug packaging. For example, drug content (composition), efficacy (indication), dosage, usage rules, side effects, contraindications, storage method, expiration date, drug registration number.

The Ministry of Health has been promoting the tagline “Ask Five W's”. Through this tagline It is hoped that the public can be more active in seeking information about drugs, both from health workers, especially pharmaceutical workers, as well as from other valid and reliable sources of information, such as drug packaging or official references. “Ask Five W's” are 5 minimum questions that must be answered before using medicine, namely:

• What is the name of this medicine and what does it contain?
• What does this drug do?
• What is the dosage of this medicine?
• What is the proper way to use this medicine?
• What are the side effects of this medicine?

In addition to these five questions, people should actively ask other questions related to the medicine they are taking or about to take.

The many problems in the use of drugs by the public and health workers, due to the lack of knowledge and information about the correct use of drugs, motivated the launch of the Smart Community Movement Using Drugs (GeMa CerMat) by the Indonesian Ministry of Health.

GeMa CerMat is a joint effort of the government and the community through a series of activities in order to increase public awareness, understanding and skills in the proper use of medicines.
On this occasion, the Director General of Pharmaceuticals invited the public to “Use Medicines Appropriately, Read Information Carefully”.