8 February, 2010
Jaipur, Rajasthan
According to the agreement, the state cooperative department would set up generic drug store in every government hospital at the space provided by the medical and health department while RDPL would supply drugs to these stores.
Rajasthan medical and health minister Aimaduddin Ahmad ‘Duru Miyan’ said that the state government is serious on providing affordable quality health care in the state. The prescription of generic medicines by doctors would ‘pierce the cartel of big manufacturers’ and reduce the drug prices. “It has been proved that generic medicines despite being cheap by 70% than their branded cousins, are equally potent. We are determined to bring down the healthcare cost in the state without compromising on facilities,” he said.
As per the proposed plan, doctors at government–run hospitals will have to keep carbon copy of prescribe medications for official record. “This way we can keep a check on doctors. We will also bring down the prices of generic medicines as well,” he said.The state government had issued such directives earlier also.
But, it was never followed except in Chittaurgarh district where the generic medicines model was successfully implemented in district hospitals. It was also applauded by two UN bodies—United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). The medicines are being sold at five to ten times less than the maximum retail prices through 17 cooperative stores. People from neighbouring districts also buy medicines from these stores.
Disclaimer: The news story on this page is the copyright of the cited publication. This has been reproduced here for visitors to review, comment on and discuss. This is in keeping with the principle of ‘Fair dealing’ or ‘Fair use’. Visitors may click on the publication name, in the news story, to visit the original article as it appears on the publication’s website.
