PHARMACIST CAN SELL GENERIC MEDICINES & WILL KEEP SEPARATE PROMINANT SHELF FOR THESe

Prof .DRRAM,HIV /AIDS,HEPATITIS ,SEX DISEASES & WEAKNESS expert,New Delhi,India, profdrram@gmail.com,+917838059592,+919832025033,ON WHATSAPP

 In our country still customers donot get benefit from low priced generic Medicines as their MRP price is too high even more than branded medicines and their generic name is printed in small letters and covered by a new brand name prominantely so pharmacist sell these in lieu of branded one and earn hugh margin ,even Government Janashudhi programme was unable to bring any relief to poor patients.

                  In order to check it,Government will compel Doctors to write generic name only not branded name ,all generic names willbe in bold letters and above the branded name written in small letters.To push the use of low-cost generic medicines, even the draft pharmaceutical policy last year had proposed that public procurement and dispensing of medicines should be of generic drugs bearing the names of salts. The draft suggested a major shift where only the name of salts (active ingredients) would be displayed on the package.

              The government is planning to make it mandatory for pharmacies to display generic medicines conspicuously on separate shelves so that consumers can opt for low-cost alternatives to expensive branded drugs.The Drugs Technical Advisory Board (DTAB) “agreed to keep a separate rack/shelf reserved solely for the storage of generic medicines in a part of the premises separated from other medicines, which shall be visible to consumers”, according to the minutes of a meeting held on 12 February.

                    The government is also considering a proposal to allow pharmacists to sell a generic version of a drug if the doctor prescribes the branded alternative, two people aware of the matter said, adding that the change is likely to take some time as it requires amendments to the Drugs and Cosmetics Act.

                          To push the use of low-cost generic medicines, even the draft pharmaceutical policy last year had proposed that public procurement and dispensing of medicines should be of generic drugs bearing the names of salts. The draft suggested a major shift where only the name of salts (active ingredients) would be displayed on the package. “Branded generic drugs are currently sold like other patented medicines, with their brand names displayed on the packaging. A manufacturer will only be allowed to stamp the company name and the generic name on the packaging and not the brand name,” the draft had proposed.