By IANS,
New Delhi : The central health ministry has decided to regularly monitor the prescription of medicines by doctors working with government hospitals, officials said Wednesday.
The move comes after it was observed that doctors in central government hospitals and autonomous institutions under the health ministry prescribe specific brands of medicines quite often with a rider that no substitute is available, a health ministry official said.
“Instances have also come to notice where the prescribed drug was very expensive and cheaper substitutes were available. However, the patient did not have any choice but to produce the prescribed drug,” he added.
From now on, whenever any branded drug is prescribed by doctors in institutions under the health ministry, the name of any other equivalent drug must also be provided, the official said.
The Directorate General of Health Services under the health ministry will regularly monitor the prescriptions to verify the compliance of the instructions.
“Central government hospitals must provide good quality generic medicines,” the official said.