Prescribe generic drugs, govt doctors told

Jaswinder Singh Baidwan

Akhran da mureed
Staff member
The state government has directed government doctors to prescribe generic medicines available in hospitals/dispensaries to patients instead of referring them to private chemists. The doctors can make the exception in emergency cases when certain drugs or surgical equipment are not available in the hospital.
The government has warned that those who defy the directive would be punished. Barjinder Singh Brar, the chairman of Punjab Health Systems Corporation, said the state government would take departmental action against the erring doctors. He said the government was committed to provide cheap medical treatment.
He said the government was trying to break the nexus of drug manufacturers, doctors and private chemists, wherein doctors prescribed particular branded medicines in lieu of freebies offered by pharmaceutical firms.
Brar said over 225 types of medicines, including 118 medicines/injections for various types of cancer, had been made available in the government hospitals/dispensaries across the state. “Most of the medicines are provided free of cost. We only charge nominal rates for certain expensive medicines,” he said.
He said the government charged around Rs 2,000-5,000 for certain medicines and injections used in the treatment of cancer. These are available in the market for Rs 40,000 to Rs 50,000.
He said, “The government provides an assistance of Rs 1.5 lakh to cancer patients. If patients buy medicines from hospital pharmacies, the money is enough to treat cancer patients.”
Adding that the medical fraternity must be sensitive to the patients’ needs, Brar said people must also be aware of the facilities being offered at the hospitals so they could avail themselves of the benefits.
The PSHC chairman said he had recently directed the hospitals and dispensaries to display boards and hoardings displaying the medicines available in the government pharmacy stores to raise awareness among the visiting patients.
“If patients feel that the doctors or the pharmacists are not cooperating with them, they must complain to the senior authorities so that appropriate action can be taken,” he said.
He said the government had also asked the doctors to write only the names of drug salts instead of brand name. Brar said the health corporation also procured over 100 types of Ayurvedic medicines that are available in the government hospitals for free.
He further said the district magistrates had also been asked to strengthen the ‘jan aushadis’ being run by the Red Cross Societies and purchase medicines after consulting the respective chief medical officers so that the medicines that are not available in government pharmacies be made available to the patients at cheaper rates.
 
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