Monitoring shows more prescribed medicines being bought from Jan Aushadhi stores

BARNALA: More patients have been directed to take prescribed generic medicines from the Jan Aushadhi stores in the Barnala civil hospital due to monitoring by the district administration. For the past two months, the administration has been monitoring the prescription of the government doctors.

In October, 19 doctors of the civil hospital issued 2,228 prescriptions for the Jan Aushadhi store and in September 1,229 prescriptions were issued.

Meanwhile, in August only 953 prescriptions were sent. Meanwhile, the Jan Aushadhi store at the civil hospital has registered an increase of nearly 135% in the prescriptions issued by the government doctors. The store also recorded a sale Rs 6.65 lakh in October whereas it was nearly Rs 3.5 lakh and Rs 2.5 lakh in September and August respectively.

The Union government had in the previous years opened the Jan Aushadhi stores at district hospitals where 380 generic medicines, manufactured by five pharmaceutical companies, were sold. Patients have to pay nearly 20% less money in purchasing the medicines from these stores as compared to the private shops.

In August, Barnala deputy commissioner Ghanshyam Thori had directed the civil surgeon to ensure that all doctors must prescribe generic medicines from the Jan Aushadhi store. He had also written to the principal secretary (health) to direct doctors to prefer prescriptions for those medicines, which were available at the Jan Aushadhi store located within the civil hospital premises.

Thori said, “After reviewing the Jan Aushadhi store progress in August, it was found that some doctors preferred sending patients to the private chemists. I decided to monitor the prescriptions. Doctors have been told that there was no shortage of medicines in these stores. If any government doctor still prescribes any medicine to be purchased from a private chemist, then strict action would be taken against him/her. A report will also be sent to principal secretary (health). If there is any shortage of medicines, the doctors can bring it to our notice.”