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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Free medicines to all patients in government hospitals from November-Khomba Singh

Free medicines to all patients in government hospitals from November-Khomba Singh

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published Published on Jun 25, 2012   modified Modified on Jun 25, 2012

The government plans to roll out a nationwide free medicine scheme by November, which will offer quality essential drugs to all the patients in state-run hospitals and treatment centres, a senior health ministry official said.

LC Goyal, additional secretary in the ministry of health and family welfare, said the scheme would offer 348 essential drugs as well as their combinations to patients. These drugs account for about 28 per cent of the country's drug market. Goyal said the central government would bear 75 per cent of the programme cost, while states would contribute the rest. He said the Planning Commission has already allocated Rs 100 crore for the scheme for the current fiscal. "We are sending the draft framework in a couple of weeks to state governments for their feedback," Goyal said.

The draft proposes several stipulations to procure drugs from well-established drug companies to ensure quality. It also suggests to make it mandatory for government doctors to prescribe drugs by their chemical names instead of the prevalent common practice of prescribing medicines by brand names.

At present, Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan successfully run similar schemes and the government sees no reason why the initiative cannot be replicated nationally. More than 10,000 drug companies sell medicines worth over Rs 62,000 crore a year in India under various brands. Generic drugs usually cost a fraction of their branded equivalents. According to the drug procurement data of Rajasthan government, it buys popular cholesterol lowering drug atorvastatin at Rs 6.10 for a strip of 10 tablets, while consumers pay Rs 103, or 34 times more, for the same medicine if they buy Zydus Cadila drug sold under the brand Atorva from retail market.

According to the Central Government Health Scheme data, medicines constitute about 40 per cent of an outpatient's healthcare bill. The branded drug makers, however, are not too enthused about the scheme. The head of an Indian drug company said the scheme would require the government to buy essential medicines in bulk, which would eventually eat into the branded drug retail market. He said bigger companies would be impacted more as their product prices are higher because of better manufacturing processes.

At present, government hospitals procure both generic and branded drugs directly from companies and through tenders. However, Daara Patel, president of the Indian Drug Manufacturer's Association, did not concur with this view. He said there would only be a limited impact on the sales of drug companies because hospital business accounts for just 15 per cent of the total local market. Moreover, he said, some companies would be supplying their drugs to the government , though at a much lower price. "Overall, there will not be significant impact on the industry," Patel said.

Right Dosage

Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan successfully run the scheme, which the Centre wants to replicate nationally. LC Goyal, additional secretary in the ministry of health and family welfare, said the scheme would offer 348 essential drugs a & their combinations. The head of an Indian drug company said the scheme would require the government to buy essential medicines in bulk, which would eventually eat into the branded drug retail market.

The Economic Times, 23 June, 2012, http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/healthcare/biotech/pharmaceuticals/free-medicines-to-all-patients-in-government-hospitals-from-november/art


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