The Centre warns doctors at central government hospitals to either prescribe generic medicines or face disciplinary action if they prescribe other medicines.
Central government-run hospitals and the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) wellness centre have been warned by the centre that they should follow a generic medicine prescription or prescribing guidelines, or if they don’t, they will face action for it. And it further adds on to it by ensuring that medical representatives visits to hospital premises are strictly limited.
Some officials said:
An office order to only prescribe generic medications to doctors at central government hospitals, CGHS wellness centres, and polyclinics has been given instructions. “Despite this, it has been observed that doctors (including residents) continue to prescribe branded medicines in some cases. The competent authority has strictly viewed this,” said Dr. Atul Goel, Director General of Health Services, in an office order.
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In the order, it said that if they did not follow these guidelines, they would face action against them.
In the order, it is also stated that medical representatives visits to hospital premises are also restricted.
Generic medicines and brand name medicines both have the same active ingredients and work in the same way, but their non-active ingredients are different from each other, and they are more likely to be cheaper as compared to brand name medicines.
An official statement issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said: “The Government of India is aware that, despite court orders and relevant regulations of the Medical Council of India, generic medicines are not being prescribed by the majority of medical practitioners.”
They further said, “In this regard, clause 1.5 of the Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquette, and Ethics) Regulations, 2002 states that every physician must prescribe drugs with legible generic names, preferably in capital letters, and must ensure that the drug is prescribed and used rationally. Furthermore, the erstwhile Medical Council of India (MCI) issued circulars directing all registered medical practitioners to comply with the aforementioned provisions.
The National Medical Commission Act of 2019 grants the relevant state medical councils or the commission’s Ethics and Medical Registration Board (EMRB) the authority to take disciplinary action against a physician in the event that the physician violates a provision of the rules described above or does not adhere to these principles.
Rashmi Rana is pursuing Masters in Journalism – Mass Media. She is a student with a strong communication and content writing skills. Rashmi is currently working as a journalist at The Shining Media.
