| Doctor, Pharma nexus causes death of fair price medical shops | | |
Nitesh Sangral
Early Times Report
Jammu Oct 22 : It seems State Health Ministry’s claims remained confined to papers and announcements only as they have knelt down before strong ‘nexus’ between doctors, officials and pharma companies forcing to close medical fair price shops.
Moreover, officials of the department have never showed interest to promote and increasing the stock of drugs in the shops at cheaper rates.
Pertinently, Generic medicines are very cheap and the price of the same drugs is nearly three times costlier in the general medical stores.
Reliable Sources told Early Times that central-sponsored scheme, fair price shops, called Jan Aushadhi Drug Stores (JADS), were to setup in Jammu to provide quality medicine to the patients at cheaper rates, but the influential Pharma lobby with the help of doctors along with department officials did not allow the implementation the scheme in Jammu due to which the shops are going to close.
“After huge hardship, the space was allotted by the concern authority and the shops has been setup Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) and Shri Maharaja Gulab Singh (SMGS) Hospital Jammu with aim to provide quality medicine to poor patients at cheap rates, “Sources also said, adding that but due to poor interest of Red Cross Society Jammu and officials of the concern authority, the shops have been failed to take off.
Sources alleged that thanks to uncaring attitude of State Health department has left scheme for dying by helping the ‘nexus’. One of the major reasons for defeating the scheme in Jammu is the unwillingness of doctors to prescribe Generic medicines.
Preferring anonymity, an official told that most of attendants prefer to visit other medical stores to buy the costly medicine .
“There are only 40 varieties of drugs available in the stores as shops provide few drugs such as antibiotics, analgesics, anti-pyretics and combination of analgesics and anti-inflammatory drugs, manufactured by five public sector drug companies— Indian Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Limited, Hindustan Antibiotics Limited, Bengal Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals Limited, Karnataka Antibiotics and Pharmaceuticals Limited and Rajasthan Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Limited, “official claim.
|
|
