Health ministry wants to break nexus between docs, shops, pharma companies.
The government has decided to sell medicines, surgical equipment and devices such as stents, pacemakers, catheters, intraocular lenses, etc, through its own shops in hospitals, at cheaper rates. This is being done to break the nexus between doctors, pharma companies and medicine shops.
Health and family welfare minister Ghulam Nabi Azad has asked officials to start the process of opening such outlets in all central and state hospitals. The minister believes this would not only save patients and their families the bother of running around, but also ensure they get genuine products at affordable prices. Since these shops will stock emergency devices, there will be no need for people to look for them outside hospitals.
“We’ve found that doctors prescribe expensive antibiotics and painkillers produced by multinational pharmaceutical companies, even though generic alternatives are available. Doctors also prescribe medicines and devices made by specific companies and sold by specific shops. It transpires that these companies sponsor foreign jaunts, shower gifts or give commission to doctors. We want to stop this,” Azad said.
Once the scheme is implemented, people will be able to buy from the government cardiac stents, drug eluting stents, catheters, intraocular lenses, IV cannulae, bone cements, heart valves, scalp vein sets, orthopedic implants, internal prosthetic replacements, screws, etc. These shops would also sell popular antibiotics, painkillers, cough and cold medication and cancer drugs.
“Many doctors get commission from companies and shops for recommending one product over the other. Patients have no choice but to do as the doctor orders. The government wants to break this nexus between doctors, companies and shops,” said a senior health ministry official.
“Once the plan gets going, doctors would have to mention the name of the device and its manufacturer on a prescription sheet. If they want devices from outside, they would have to explain why,” said the official.
However, some doctors claimed that the scheme will not succeed since government shops do not offer enough choice. “In the past, similar experiments have failed since the government doesn’t believe in an open market policy. These shops have limited products and patients do not have much choice. It is a competitive market today and all sorts of products are available. People decide according to their need and paying capacity. Such schemes succeed only if there is a wider choice,” said a senior surgeon in a Delhi government hospital.
The government is aware of this, which is why it wants to stock a wider range of products. “Our shops will have products for all. If the rich can afford high-value products, they can buy it from our shops. But, the poor cannot be forced to buy the same products,” said the official.
The ministry has also started keeping tabs on what doctors are prescribing. “There is a computerised system to see who is prescribing what. We are maintaining a log,” said the official.
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