[e-drug] Generic prescriptions in India - problems & solutions - a study

e-drug
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E-DRUG: Generic prescriptions in India - problems & solutions - a study
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Dear professionals,

Brand name prescriptions are widely practiced by Indian doctors. One
generic drug may have hundreds of branded products and all brands are
prescribed by some doctors. Branded medicines are always costlier compared
to generic products..

Studies have shown that compared to generic items,
branded medicines are 30 to 200 per cent or more costly in India. The
Prime Minister of India Mr Narendra Modi in April 2017 announced that
the Government of India intend to ensure that doctors prescribe medicines
by generic name only.

Apart from price, brand name prescriptions promote
irrational prescriptions as in the case of Fixed Dose Combinations. There
are also instances of branded products containing same or similar active
ingredients to others prescribed to patients.

Some times different generic medicines are marketed under same brand names by different manufacturers.

If the drugs control departments in the country are modernised, empowered
and utilise the scientific advantages including information technology,
the menace of spurious and low quality medicines reaching the market can be
avoided.

Computerised tracking system and prescription auditing will help
to make the pharmacy practice more professional and ethical.

Bar coding should be made mandatory for all medicines manufactured/
marketed in the country.

The firms marketing not of standard quality medicines should be
severely punished.

All medicines irrespective of whether they are having
generic or brand names shall be of standard quality and the enforcing
authorities should ensure the quality of medicines.

A study paper entitled "Generic prescriptions and dispensing in India-
Problems and solutions" published in World Journal of Pharmaceutical
Research Vol 6, Issue 9 pages 424- 429 is available on the web site-

http://www.wjpr.net/download/article/1502949545.pdf

Interested people can go through it. Opinions and suggestions welcome

Regards

Revikumar K G
Director, Kerala Institute for Drug Studies
Rajeevam, Kavaradi Road, Pettah, Trivandrum, Kerala, India. 695 024.
email. kg.revikumar@gmail.com

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E-DRUG: Generic prescriptions in India - problems & solutions - a study (2)
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Dear Revikumar,

I wonder though whether this distinction between 'generics' and 'branded'
medicines hold sufficiently for a policy intervention. Virtually all
generic medicines are 'branded' too, if the consideration relates to
trademarks, copyright and trade names, as opposed to patents.

In that sense a doctor may still prescribe a generic product by their brand name.
Of course, the right policy intervention is to insist on independent
non-proprietary names. But that does not in any way prevent the
prescription fulfillment chemist or dispenser from giving the patient a
more expensive generic brand, if the ultimate goal is to reduce the costs
of medicines to either out of pocket paying patients or the public treasury.

Or perhaps I misunderstand.

Regards,

Bright

mPedigree
www.mPedigree.net
Bright Simons <bbsimons@mpedigree.net>