Soon, TB patients to get free drugs from private Chemists
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is in the process of establishing the central government's move.
Mumbai: Tuberculosis (TB) patients can soon avail of free medicines even from privately-run chemists, following the central government’s decision. As of now, TB patients can avail free medicines only from state-run pharmacies and medical care units like primary health centres, government hospitals, and community directly observed treatment, short course (DOTS) providers.
To eradicate TB by 2025, the central government’s TB control and management team has given a green signal to distributing free drugs to patients suffering from TB.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is in the process of establishing the central government’s move. According to the joint commissioner, FDA, Arjun Khadtare, “The FDA will give its nod to chemists having a valid licence and only then they will be able to receive a supply of TB drugs from the state government.”
Mr Khadtare also said that after checking all these documents, the FDA will allow chemists to store and distribute free TB drugs to patients. He added that they had provided a list of all registered chemists to the central government for the same.