E-Paper
Chandigarh admn repatriates GMSH-16 doctor for prescribing branded medicines
The doctor was on deputation in the Chandigarh health department for the last nine years and presently posted in the ENT department of GMSH
The UT administration on Friday repatriated a Haryana doctor posted at Government Multi-Specialty Hospital (GMSH), Sector 16, for prescribing branded medicines to patients on unsigned slips.
The doctor was on deputation in the UT health department for the last nine years and presently posted in the ENT department of GMSH.
In his order, UT health secretary Yashpal Garg said, “It was observed that despite repeated instructions to prescribe generic medicines to patients, a GMSH doctor continued prescribing branded medicines. However, when a senior hospital doctor objected to the move and advised the doctor not to prescribe branded medicines, the doctor admitted the mistake and assured in writing that branded medicines will not be prescribed in future.”
“One week after the written assurance, it was observed that the doctor started prescribing generic medicines on OPD cards of the patients but also started issuing unsigned small slips to patients with the name of branded medicines. The idea of issuing small slips indicating branded medicines was invented to derail the efforts of the Chandigarh administration of encouraging prescription of generic medicines and also for other reasons not yet known. This shows that repeated instructions to prescribe generic medicines were deliberately violated by the doctor, and that the issuance of unsigned slips with prescription of branded medicine was against the basic norms and ethics of the medical profession,” Garg added.
The health secretary added that appropriate disciplinary proceedings will also be taken against the doctor whose name was not being revealed, as it was not a personal attack but a message to all doctors to follow the administration’s guidelines.
Aiming to bring down healthcare costs and improve access to quality care, Garg in January this year had asked doctors of government health facilities to prescribe generic medicines to patients.
In a notice to doctors, Garg had said, “As a regulatory measure, the National Medical Commission has circulated the Registered Medical Practitioner (Professional Conduct) Regulations, 2022. These regulations include ‘Generic medicine and prescription guidelines’ to reduce out-of-pocket spending on medications, which accounts for a major proportion of public spending on health care, as generic medicines are 30% to 80% cheaper than branded drugs.”
The order had said that all doctors must prescribe drugs with generic, non-proprietary, pharmacological names only. However, in the case of drugs with a narrow therapeutic index, biosimilars and other exceptional cases, this practice can be relaxed.
