Earlier this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the government was considering enacting a law making it mandatory for doctors to prescribe generics; a move that had gotten support and approval from both the health ministry and the Medical Council of India.
The law primarily aimed at getting doctors to prescribe drugs by their chemical names in an effort to break the Doctor-Big Pharma nexus that often increases the cost of healthcare. Many doctors prescribe generics but branded ones.
However, the ministry of health and family welfare has presently recommended that the idea be implemented carefully, and over time, to ensure that the right quality and quantity of drugs are available.
The ministry said “it will not be possible” to do this “in the next two-three years even if it is made mandatory”. “On the other hand, it will cause scarcity of quality medicines”, it said in a presentation to the prime minister’s office.
Through the presentation, the health ministry expressed concerns over the efficacy, safety and effectiveness of some generic drugs because they do not undergo bioavailability and bioequivalence (or BABE) studies. “The common man and the country will benefit if both quality and prices are emphasized.” The
ministry also highlighted other issues in rushing through this change, with the doctor-Big Pharma nexus at risk of becoming a Big Pharma-chemist nexus and problems for both doctors and patients with “complicated” names of some drugs.In the context of a recent study by the health ministry which found that almost 3.16% of the drugs in India are “not of standard quality”, with the proportion rising to 10% in government supplies, Anoop Misra, chairman, Fortis C-Doc, a multi-speciality hospital in Delhi said, “This will involve strict quality control, and proper distribution by retail outlets to reach under-served areas. All this is possible but will take time, preparation, planning and political will.”
The ministry does have a suggestion for accelerating the process. In its presentation, it said the government could only procure unbranded generic drugs or, under the Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana, which aims to provide cheaper medical drugs to people, get “private manufacturers to supply medicines in generic names”.
“This way, in about two years’ time, a good share of the market can be captured by generic generics,” it added.
