6. PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS AMMENDMENT
6.1 Unethical behaviour of Doctors
Doctors can be forced by law to write an ‘official’ prescription but they can still ‘unofficially’ prescribe branded drugs. A report by India’s Income Tax Dept. states that many leading pharmaceutical companies have paid doctors for prescribing their drugs. The Pharma Companies deny this and say that the money was transferred so that the doctors educate patients. The doctors will be at advantage until the bill is passed and it is made compulsory for doctors to prescribe only generic salt. During this time period, the firms can transfer money or give ‘gifts’ so as to promote their medicine and force the doctor to prescribe their drug. This can therefore lead to an …show more content…
This is one of the problems that can lead to a failure of prescribing only generic salt. Doctor might perform this duty and prescribe the salt to the patient but then it is up to the chemist as to which drug will he provide the patient with. The chemist will compare the profit that he will earn from selling the branded drug or the generic drug. He will definitely be biased to sell the branded drugs because the profit margin in wholesale and retail prices of branded drugs is big.
6.3 Quality Control
The generic drugs are not 100% same as the branded drugs. Moreover, the poor regulatory regime does not assure us about the quality of generic drugs. According to the National Drug Survey 2014-2016 (National Institute of Biologicals, 2014-2016), 10% of the medicines in the government supply chain are found to be not up to the standards. 2% level is globally accepted but India’s medicine standards are shown to be very low.
7. WHO WILL BENEFIT FROM THIS LEGAL …show more content…
India has been a leader in the pharmaceutical sector for manufacturing and exporting drugs at cheap rates. It is leading in the ‘Anti-Retroviral’ treatment medication. Prescribing only generic drugs will help spread affordable treatment in the country. In the long run, this will also reduce the unethical behaviour of the doctors and big pharma firms. This new policy will definitely give a boost to the generic medicine manufacturing industry but it can also lead to a fall in innovation as investment in Research & Development to invent new drugs is a huge amount. It is going to be a challenge for the government to devise ways which do not compromise the R&D sentiment. Moreover, there should be a strict quality control mechanism so that the companies producing generic drugs do not compromise on
6.1 Unethical behaviour of Doctors
Doctors can be forced by law to write an ‘official’ prescription but they can still ‘unofficially’ prescribe branded drugs. A report by India’s Income Tax Dept. states that many leading pharmaceutical companies have paid doctors for prescribing their drugs. The Pharma Companies deny this and say that the money was transferred so that the doctors educate patients. The doctors will be at advantage until the bill is passed and it is made compulsory for doctors to prescribe only generic salt. During this time period, the firms can transfer money or give ‘gifts’ so as to promote their medicine and force the doctor to prescribe their drug. This can therefore lead to an …show more content…
This is one of the problems that can lead to a failure of prescribing only generic salt. Doctor might perform this duty and prescribe the salt to the patient but then it is up to the chemist as to which drug will he provide the patient with. The chemist will compare the profit that he will earn from selling the branded drug or the generic drug. He will definitely be biased to sell the branded drugs because the profit margin in wholesale and retail prices of branded drugs is big.
6.3 Quality Control
The generic drugs are not 100% same as the branded drugs. Moreover, the poor regulatory regime does not assure us about the quality of generic drugs. According to the National Drug Survey 2014-2016 (National Institute of Biologicals, 2014-2016), 10% of the medicines in the government supply chain are found to be not up to the standards. 2% level is globally accepted but India’s medicine standards are shown to be very low.
7. WHO WILL BENEFIT FROM THIS LEGAL …show more content…
India has been a leader in the pharmaceutical sector for manufacturing and exporting drugs at cheap rates. It is leading in the ‘Anti-Retroviral’ treatment medication. Prescribing only generic drugs will help spread affordable treatment in the country. In the long run, this will also reduce the unethical behaviour of the doctors and big pharma firms. This new policy will definitely give a boost to the generic medicine manufacturing industry but it can also lead to a fall in innovation as investment in Research & Development to invent new drugs is a huge amount. It is going to be a challenge for the government to devise ways which do not compromise the R&D sentiment. Moreover, there should be a strict quality control mechanism so that the companies producing generic drugs do not compromise on