Weeks after the new National Medical Commission (NMC) regulation made it mandatory for doctors to prescribe generic drugs, Indian Medical Association (IMA) on Monday demanded urgent intervention from the government.
“The notification is an injustice to doctors who always hold the interest of their patients as non-negotiable. If the government and NMC want all the doctors in the country to prescribe only generic drugs, they should simply order all pharmaceutical companies to manufacture all the drugs without brand names. Then no one has to write the brand name. Let the NMC/GOI ensure quality generic drugs or accept responsibility if patients fail to respond to prescribe generics,” the association said in a statement.
According to the press statement, IMA also stated that it urges the government to have ‘one drug, one quality, one price’ system whereby all brands should be either sold at the same price which should be controlled or banned, and only generics allowed while ensuring the highest quality of these drugs.
“The present system will only put the huge dilemma in the minds of practitioners and cause unnecessary blaming of the Medical Profession by the society,” it added.
IMA demands deferring of this regulation for wider consultations by the government of India and IMA also calls for serious and urgent intervention by union government and NMC in this regard, it stated.
“If doctors are not allowed to prescribe branded drugs, then why such drugs should be licensed at all, given that modern medicine drugs can be dispensed only on prescription of doctors of this system. Government, if serious about implementing generic drugs should give licence only to generics and not to any branded drugs while ensuring quality of generic drugs,” IMA said in its statement.
It also stated that making quality brands available in market but disallowing doctors who are responsible for patients’ health, from prescribing them seems “dubious.”
“The onus of exercising the choice shifts from the doctor to the medical shop. Now Market forces rather than the profession will determine the choice. Will this assure that the patient gets generic version of the drug? or will the brand of pharmacy’s choice be dispensed?” it added.
The association also stated that the biggest impediment to generic drugs is the uncertainty about it’s quality.
“The quality control in the nation being very weak, there’s practically no guarantee of the quality of drugs and prescribing drugs without assured quality would be detrimental to patient health. Less than 0.1% of the drugs manufactured in India are tested for quality. This step should be deferred till the Government can assure the quality of all the drugs released into the market. Patient care and safety are not negotiable,” it added.
IMA also demanded that a “fool proof system” of quality assurance before switching over to generic drugs.
According to the new regulation, notified on August 2, all doctors must prescribe generic drugs, failing which they will be penalised and even their license to practice may also be suspended for a period.
Moreover, as per the new regulation, the doctors should also avoid prescribing branded generic drugs.
“Generic medicines are 30 to 80 per cent cheaper than branded drugs. Hence, prescribing generic medicines may overtly bring down healthcare costs and improve access to quality care,” it said.
In case of violations, a doctor may be given the warning to be more careful about the regulations or instructed to attend a workshop or academic programme on ethics, personal and social relations and/or professional training.
On repeated violations, the doctor’s license to practice may be suspended for a particular period, the regulations said as quoted by PTI.
Reportedly, a template has also been provided by the NMC that may be used for writing prescriptions rationally. The new regulation also urged the doctors to encourage patients to purchase drugs from Jan Aushadhi Kendras and other generic pharmacy outlets, educate medical students and the public about the equivalence of generic medicine with their branded counterparts.
They should actively participate in programs related to promotion and access to generic medicines, it added.
