Rajasthan hospitals to prescribe cheaper generic medicines

All the public hospitals in Rajasthan would soon start prescribing cheaper generic drugs promoted by the government through its Jan Aushadhi programme, instead of the usual branded formulations of commonly used drugs.

The government of Rajasthan has already issued guidelines to the doctors in the government hospitals to prescribe generic drugs, reports said.

The western state of Rajasthan became the first state in India that has issued guidelines to the doctors in the State-run hospitals.

More Indian states are expected to follow the Rajasthan model of prescribing only generic drugs through goverment-run hospitals even as the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health suggested that it should be made mandatory for the State governments to open the Jan Aushadhi outlets in all government hospitals to ensure this price benefit to the wider sections of the people.

The ambitious Jan Aushadhi programme has been started by the government of India
to ensure availability of medicines at low cost to the common man across the length and breadth of India

The chemicals and fertilizer ministry, under the government of India, which oversees the drug sector, was planning to supply unbranded generic versions of all essential medicines at a price about 50% less than they cost in the market through setting up a chain of round the clock retail outlets in all districts of the country.

The first of such Jan Aushadhi outlets was opened in Punjab in November 2008.

Under the scheme, the government provides the space needed to set up the medicine outlet free of cost, apart form a credit facility for medicines for 45 days, to a non-governmental organisation that will be responsible to run the shop.

Unbranded versions of generic medicines (sold under the chemical name), including popular antibiotics, pain-killers, cough and cold medication were to be sold at these ‘Jan Aushadhi’ stores.

The medicine for these retail outlets were to be sourced from the public sector drug manufacturers including Indian Drugs and Pharmaceuticals, Hindustan Antibiotics, Rajasthan Drugs and Pharmaceuticals and Bengal Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals.

Recently, India government was planning to supply cancer drugs at discounted rates to patients through public retail outlets meant for low-cost generics.

The government will bring cancer drugs also under its nationwide programme of ‘Jan Aushadhi’ stores, reports said.

Increasing the medicine basket of Jan Aushadhi stores is the government’s priority and it was looking to bring cancer drugs under this programme, minister of state for chemicals and fertilisers ministry Srikant Kumar Jena was quoted as saying.

More Indian states are expected to follow the Rajasthan model of prescribing only generic drugs as the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health, suggested that it should be made mandatory for the State governments to open the Jan Aushadhi outlets in all government hospitals to ensure this price benefit to the wider sections of the people.

All States have been requested to encourage opening of Jan Aushadhi outlets in the district hospitals in their States.

Apart from the states of Rajasthan and Punjab, more state governments like Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Delhi have now shown interest in the scheme.

Besides expanding the network of Jan Aushadhi stores in different States, the DoP has been trying to persuade the State authorities to promote unbranded generic drugs through prescriptions.

Rajasthan is currently in the process of setting up 105 drug stores that sell low-cost generic medicines in the government hospitals within a month, reports said.

The Rajasthan government has forged an alliance with the state-owned drug manufacturer Rajasthan Drugs and Pharmaceuticals (RDPL) as well as Rajasthan medical department and cooperative department to start generic medicine stores across the state.

Rajasthan state cooperative department would be the central agency for low-cost generic drug stores project.

Rajasthan Drugs and Pharmaceuticals would supply drugs to the medicines shops set up by  the state cooperative department in every government hospital at the space provided by the medical and health department, according to the agreement.

Doctors at government-run hospitals in Rajasthan are mandated to keep carbon copy of medications they prescribe for official record so that the government acn keep a track on them.

Rajasthan government is also planning to cut down the prices of generic medicines to further low levels to make them affordable to the poorer sections of the society.

Rajasthan’s Chittaurgarh is the only district where the generic medicines model was successfully implemented in district hospitals.

In Chittaurgarh, medicines are being sold at five to ten times less than the maximum retail prices through 17 cooperative stores. People from neighbouring districts also travel to Chittaurgarh’s cooperative stores to buy medicines, reports said.

Chittaurgarh was hailed by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) for its efforts to make medicines affordable to the needy.