Doctors to be penalised for not prescribing generic drugs, says new NMC regulation

All doctors must prescribe generic drugs failing which they will be penalised and even their license to practice may also be suspended for a period according to the new regulations issued by the National Medical CommissionThe National Medical Commission NMC in its Regulations relating to Professional Conduct of Registered Medical Practitioners also asked doctors to avoid prescribing branded generic drugsEven though doctors are currently required to prescribe generic drugs only there are no penal provisions mentioned in the regulations issued in 2002 by the Indian Medical CouncilThe NMC regulations notified on August 2 stated that Indias outofpocket spending on medications accounts for a major proportion of public spending on healthcareGeneric medicines are 30 to 80 per cent cheaper than branded drugs Hence prescribing generic medicines may overtly bring down healthcare costs and improve access to quality care it saidUnder the generic medicine and prescription guidelines of the regulations the NMC defined generic medicines as a drug product that is comparable to brandreference listed product in dosage form strength route of administration quality and performance characteristics and intended useOn the other hand a branded generic drug is one which has come off patent and is manufactured by drug companies and sold under different companies brand namesThese drugs may be less costly than the branded patent version but costlier than the bulkmanufactured generic version of the drug There is less regulatory control over the prices of branded generic drugsEvery RMP registered medical practitioner should prescribe drugs using generic names written legibly and prescribe drugs rationally avoiding unnecessary medications and irrational fixeddose combination tablets the regulation statedIn case of violations a doctor may be given a warning to be more careful about the regulations or instructed to attend a workshop or academic programme on ethics personal and social relations andor professional trainingOn repeated violations the doctors license to practice may be suspended for a particular period the regulations saidThe NMC said prescriptions should be legible and preferably written in all caps to avoid misinterpretation As far as possible prescriptions should be typed and printed to avoid errors it saidA template has also been provided by the NMC that may be used for writing prescriptions rationallyMedical practitioners should prescribe only those generic medicines available in the market and accessible to patients They should also advocate for hospitals and local pharmacies to stock generic drugs the NMC regulation statedThey should encourage patients to purchase drugs from Jan Aushadhi Kendras and other generic pharmacy outlets educate medical students and the public about the equivalence of generic medicine with their branded counterparts and should actively participate in programs related to promotion and access to generic medicines it addedThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever