Team Blitz India
New Delhi: The Centre has warned doctors at Central Government-run hospitals and Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) wellness centres to comply with the norms of prescribing generic medicines, which cost a fraction of the price of branded drugs, failing which action will be taken against them.
It has also asked them to ensure that visits of medical representatives (MRs) to hospital premises are completely curtailed. Any information about a new launch, says an office order, may be communicated by way of e-mail only.
In private hospitals, such visits by MRs are common as they regularly interact with doctors to explain about the novelties of new drugs formulated by their companies. Once convinced, doctors prescribe these medicines to patients, and that boosts the sale of pharmaceutical companies.
According to the order, doctors at the Central Government hospitals, CGHS wellness centres and polyclinics have been instructed time and again to only prescribe generic medicines.
“Despite this, it has been observed that doctors (including residents) in some instances continue to prescribe branded medicines. This has been viewed strictly by the competent authority,” Director General of Health Services Dr Atul Goel said in an office order issued on May 12.
Generic medicines are those which have exactly the same active ingredients as branded drugs and yield the same therapeutic effect. They are same in dosing, safety, strength, quality, the way they work, the way they are taken, and the way they should be used.
