After PM Modi nudge, govt push for generic drugs

New Delhi: A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi hinted at rules for doctors to prescribe generic medicine, the Union health ministry on Tuesday shot off a letter to all Central government hospitals, including the newly-established All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) like institutions, to prescribe low cost generic medicines only.

The health ministry was earlier contemplating “penalising” government doctors who were not prescribing generic medicines as even the group of secretaries (GoS) formed at the behest of the PM had suggested for the same. While the suggestion is yet to be accepted, the health ministry took a step forward recently and issued a draft gazette notification making it mandatory for the pharma companies to carry generic names of the drugs in bolder fonts than the brand name. “Amendments have been made under the existing Drugs and Cosmetics Act and a violation to this will be a punishable offence,” said a senior ministry official.

To ensure easy availability of generic medicines in government hospitals, the government also proposes a quick expansion of Jan Aushadhi stores — 3,000 by March 2017 and 6,000 by March 2018.

“So far, the rollout of these stores have been slow. There are only 683 stores in 205 districts and they have limited range of medicines. The proposal is to introduce franchise model and include all commonly used medicines and devices,” a senior health ministry official said.

Keeping in view increasing burden of out-of-pocket expenses on patients, the PM on Monday had said that government would put in place a legal framework to ensure doctors prescribe generic medicines.