Amidst a contentious discussion, physicians, associations, and healthcare organizations have united, submitting a joint appeal to Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. They have taken a united stand against the directive and are requesting that a recently implemented rule be reconsidered and revoked.
Amidst a heated discussion, physicians, associations, and healthcare institutions have united and jointly appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya. They demand that the directive be immediately rescinded and reconsidered because of their united opposition to a newly imposed rule.
Three groups have reached out to the government in the last week, pleading for a review and retraction of a recent directive. The Medico-Legal Society of India and the Association of Physicians of India, a consortium of consulting physicians, have written to Prime Minister Modi and Health Minister Mandaviya expressing their opposition to the directive, in line with the Indian Medical Association’s position against the policy change.
The National Medical Commission (NMC) mandated on August 2 that physicians prescribe generic medications instead of branded ones. Penalties, warnings, and mandatory attendance at workshops for physicians could follow noncompliance. According to an official notification from the NMC, license suspension for persistent violations is a possibility.
When compared to their branded counterparts, generic medications are identical in terms of dosages, usage, side effects, administration routes, risks, safety, and potency. For instance, the generic name for branded pain and fever relievers, Crocin and Dolo 650, is paracetamol.
The National Medical Commission’s (NMC) guidelines define generic medications as those that are comparable to their brand- or reference-listed counterparts in terms of quality, performance characteristics, dosage form, administration route, and intended use.
The National Medical Commission (NMC) advises legible prescriptions, ideally written entirely in capital letters, to maximize clarity and reduce misinterpretation. Prescriptions should be typewritten and printed in order to reduce errors. Doctors can write reasonable prescriptions by using the template provided by the NMC.
The effectiveness and quality of generic medications have come under scrutiny, with critics mainly consisting of academicians and medical professionals working in medical education institutions. They contend that a perceived lack of standardized testing and approval procedures may jeopardize the efficacy and dependability of generic medications. Some critics argue that branded medications offer a higher level of quality assurance than generic medications.
Notwithstanding doubts regarding the caliber of generic drugs, their accessibility is a big benefit. The lack of patent protection and lower marketing costs are the reasons for the lower prices, which increase accessibility to healthcare for the general public. According to the government, chronic patients who are struggling to pay for expensive medical care may find this change in prescription practices especially important.
Since branded medications are more expensive and raise health insurance premiums, insurance companies may profit from the expected cost savings from using generic medications. The Indian Medical Association (IMA), however, contends that the requirement to prescribe particular classes of medications compromises the autonomy of medical professionals and undercuts the provision of all-encompassing medical care. Physicians express concern that the new directive may impair their ability to provide high-quality care, even though they generally support the goal of promoting generic drugs.
Concerns have been raised about the directive, which aims to improve healthcare accessibility and affordability for economically disadvantaged populations. The Indian Medical Association’s (IMA) National President, Dr. Sharad Kumar Agarwal, and Secretary General, Dr. Anilkumar J. Nayak, claim that the mandate seems to shift decision-making authority from physicians to pharmacists or other individuals working in pharmacy settings. This change is viewed as possibly not being in the best interests of the patients because it gives non-medical staff the authority to make important treatment decisions.
Concerned that the directive requiring the prescription of generic medications may violate citizens’ fundamental rights under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, the Medico Legal Society of India has voiced concerns about it. The society cites legal precedents to support its claim that people should be free to make decisions about their bodies and medical care without undue intervention from the government.
Less than 0.1% of medications made in India are subjected to quality testing, which has alarmed the Indian Medical Association (IMA). The Medico Legal Society of India has issued a warning regarding possible breaches in generic medication quality control, which could result in questionable effectiveness and possible legal ramifications for physicians. The argument is made more complicated by the National Medical Commission’s (NMC) lack of authority over pharmacy procedures and drug quality. Physicians also point out how difficult it is to guarantee that medications are available in the Indian market.
Comprehensive regulation of the pharmaceutical industry is necessary, according to Dr. Sood, a member of important medical organizations in India and a former dean of PGIMER-Ram Manohar Lohia hospital in New Delhi. He clarified that drug manufacturers frequently create three different iterations of a medication: a high-end brand, a lower-end generic version, and a third, more reasonably priced generic version. Nonetheless, businesses frequently give the premium brand priority. Dr. Sood emphasized that regulations governing the pharmaceutical industry and pharmacists should be enforced in addition to medical professionals, as dictating rules to physicians alone might not work. He cited cases where patients receive subpar care, especially when expensive life-saving medications are involved, and he recommended that prices be limited following approvals.
