-The Hindu About 40 networks and civil society groups from 16 districts of Rajasthan on Saturday demanded that the flagship free Medicine supply scheme at government hospitals in the State be brought under an independent legislation or included in the Rajasthan Public Services Guarantee Act, 2011, to remove bottlenecks being faced for the past eight months. Activists under the banner of Jan Swasthya Abhiyan praised the scheme for its reach and objectives,...

-The Telegraph A nationwide association of doctors has called on its members to observe a strike on June 25 to protest against several government initiatives, including a move to improve quality standards in clinics and hospitals. The Indian Medical Association (IMA) is opposing the implementation of the Clinical Establishment Act that imposes certain minimum standards for infrastructure, space, equipment, and qualified paramedical staff on clinics, nursing homes, and hospitals. Senior IMA executives said...

Does long-term intake of a special form of insulin prevent diabetes and heart problems, but cause cancer? The debate has been raging in medical circles for long. Now, an international study involving 12,000 pre-diabetics settles two parts of it, but leaves the other open for further research. Results of ORIGIN (Outcome Reduction with Initial Glargine Intervention) study presented in the wee hours of Tuesday at the annual meeting of the American...

-The Hindu The World Health Organisation (WHO) has put in place a mechanism to define counterfeit medical products. The set of definitions of sub-standard, spurious, falsely labelled, falsified and counterfeit products will be globally accepted and help to bring about uniformity in identifying such drugs, without interrupting worldwide supplies. The decision to establish a member state mechanism was taken at the World Health Assembly, the WHO's policymaking body, at a meeting held recently. The...

-The Economic Times At a time when the government is desperately trying to take growth to remote tribal-dominated areas, it has found that a key link in the chain - voluntary organisations - has been malfunctioning. Random surveys, conducted by the tribal affairs ministry, have unearthed how over the years NGOs had been getting grants from the Centre for tribal welfare and the money was being misused to make private residences.  The...