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Health Ministry plans to frame treatment guidelines to promote rational use of drugs

February 28, 2012 in health ministry, pharmacist

With a view to further promoting the rational use of drugs particularly in key therapeutic areas, the Health Ministry is mulling the idea of framing treatment guidelines for diseases like HIV, TB and Malaria programmes.

The proposed prescription guidelines will be made applicable not only in the government centres that are extending treatment for HIV and TB, but also for the private health facilities and providers. The Ministry has taken inputs from some leading experts in this regard. However, details will be worked out only in consonance with all the stakeholders, sources said.

“With hardly any new antibiotics, anti-TB, anti-malarial being developed, the control of drug resistance to currently available medicines has become crucial. It is therefore necessary there is a well evidenced and compelling need for public and patient education in the appropriate use of drugs particularly antibiotics/ antimicrobials, with potential benefits to the individual patient and public health,” sources said.

An expert panel of the Planning Commission has already suggested several steps to promote rational use of medicines. One of the key recommendations is to introduce a system to make compulsory the use of generic names or the international non-proprietary name (INN) at all stages of production and distribution.

Use of generic names or INN should be encouraged at all stages of procurement, distribution, prescription and use as it contributes to a sound system of procurement and distribution, drug information and rational use at every level of the health care system, according to the expert panel.

“A comprehensive law is required to mandate prescription audits, a measure necessary to curb drug resistance. The DCGI and FSSAI will jointly examine the neutraceuticals having multivitamins, minerals etc for prophylactic and therapeutic purpose,” the report of the panel said.

Irrational FDCs, non-essential vitamins/tonics, cough syrups feature in the top selling pharmaceuticals in terms of value and volume but they harm public health and patients by increasing adverse effects, imposing higher financial burden on patients and facilitating – emergence of drug resistance (in the case of FDCs of antibiotics). Therefore, stricter criteria for registration and – regulatory review of medicines by CDCSO should be a priority. This helps weed- out substandard, toxic, irrational medicines from the market, the panel said.

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One Increment to Govt. Employee who date of increment is Feb-June

February 27, 2012 in Uncategorized

The order for Granting one increment to the Central Government Employees may be issued in the first week of March 2012
Sources close to the DOP&T informed that the issue of granting one increment to the government servants, whose increment date falls between February 2006 and June 2006, has been forwarded to Finance Ministry for its approval. According to the sources, the Finance Ministry gave its approval to this proposal as agreed by the Government in the National Anomaly Committee.

The Federations representing National Anomaly Committee approached the Government to issue the order very soon, since the decision of granting one increment to the govt servants was taken in the National Anomaly Committee on 5th January 2012. It is believed that the federations were informed that due to the ongoing Elections for state assemblies in some states, issuing order is delayed. As per the Election Schedule the elections for state assemblies for 5 States are commenced on 28-1-2012, and the 6th phase of U.P and Goa State assembly elections will be completed by 03-03-2012. So, keeping in view of the above, we can expect that the order for Granting one increment to the Central Government Employees may be issued in the first week of March 2012.

According to the decision which is agreed by government in National Anomaly Committee, the govt servants will be granted one increment in the pre revised 5 CPC scale on 01-01-2006, and then it will be multiplied by 1.86 and the pay in the Pay Band in the 6 CPC will be fixed accordingly.

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There is No Proposal of Health Ministry to Create a Cadre for Pharmacists

February 21, 2012 in association, health ministry

In reply to following questions asked by Sh. Rajniti Prasad, MP in Rajya Sabha that
whether it is a fact that different pharmacists’ associations have represented for creating a career progression scheme and providing for promotional avenues; and
whether Government will consider for creation of a cadre for pharmacists so that they get proper incentive and promotion avenue?

health minister replied.

The representations received from various professional bodies from time to time are being appropriately addressed. Pharmacy Council of India, a statutory body created under Pharmacy Act, 1948, represented before 6th Central Pay Commission for creating a separate cadre comprising 7 grades from pharmacist to Director of Pharmacy. The promotional avenues for pharmacists are available to some extent and eligible pharmacists’ who do not get regular promotions are being granted financial upgradation under Modified Assured Career Progression Scheme. And Presently, there is no such proposal in the Ministry.

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PCI is preparing central register

February 18, 2012 in pharmacist, Pharmacy Council

Maintainance of central register by the Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) containing the name of all persons for the time being entered in the register for a state is a mandatory requirement u/s 15-A of the Pharmacy Act, 1948. The data of registered pharmacists in the states has to be provided by the State Pharmacy Councils to the PCI after the first day of April of each year as per sub-section (2) of section 15-A of the Pharmacy Act. The PCI is not able to fulfill this mandatory requirement due to non-reciept of the register from the State Pharmacy Councils inspite of regular and repeated reminders.

Therefore PCI has requested the State Pharmacy Councils to provide the data of registered pharmacists upto 01.04.2011 alognwith a CD to enable the council to maintain the central register.

 

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Free medicines for all’ plan gets PMO thumbs up

February 13, 2012 in health ministry, medical news, pharmacist

Free medicines to all patients visiting any government health facility across the country could soon be a reality with the health ministry ready to roll out a nearly Rs 30,000 crore ‘free-medicines-for-all’ scheme with the PMO’s strong backing.

The free medicine initiative along with an expansion of the National Rural Health Mission to urban areas, a more district-oriented approach and implementation of recommendations of the K Srinath Reddy committee on universal health coverage will be important focus points of UPA-2′s health policy. The scheme is also expected to be strongly backed by the Sonia Gandhi-chaired NAC at a meeting on February 17.

At a meeting chaired by Pulok Chatterjee, principal secretary to the PM, on Friday, the medicine-for-all scheme and other thrust areas got a thumbs up with PM Manmohan Singh keen to roll out health sector initiatives. The medicine proposal will help cut India’s tremendously high out-of-pocket (OOP) expenditure on health care.

Speaking to this reporter, a ministry official said, “We are ready to roll out the scheme which will provide free generic medicines to all those who visit government health care facilities across the country. This will reduce OOP expenditure and also encourage more people to visit government health facilities. However, we can’t make the announcement now with the elections on as it would violate EC guidelines.”

Instead of increasing public spending on drug procurement when millions of Indian households have no access to medicines, several large states have decreased fund allocation. Consider the case of Kerala. Even though the state spent the highest in India on drug procurement last year – 12.5% of its health expenditure – the expense was significantly less than in 2001, when it stood at 17%.

“We estimate that an increase in the public procurement of medicines from around 0.1% to 0.5% of GDP will ensure universal access to essential drugs, greatly reduce the burden on private OOP expenditures and increase the financial protection for households,” a report has said. Drug prices have shot up phenomenally in India over the past decade and a half. This has been the main reason for the rising costs of medical care, which more than tripled between 1993-94 and 2006-07.

 

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Haryana drug control authorities initiate action against hospital pharmacies without licence

February 7, 2012 in DRUGS CONTROL

Following the judgments from the Kerala High Court and later on from the Supreme Court of India in favour of the drugs control department of Kerala in the SLPs filed by the Kerala branch of the Qualified Private Medical Practitioners Association (QPMPA), the drugs control sleuths of Haryana last week raided two major private hospital pharmacies in Panchkula and seized huge quantum of medicines for not obtaining pharmacy licence from the department.

The officials registered cases against National Skin Hospital and Alchemist Hospital for violation of sections 18a and 18c of the Drugs & Cosmetics Act. Lalith Goyal, the drugs controller of Haryana said the drug store house of one of the hospitals was also working without licence.

This is the first incident of cases against hospital pharmacies for selling drugs without licence in a state outside of Kerala after the Supreme Court dismissed the SLP (C), No 6877/11 on 18.3.2011 filed by the QPMPA, an association of doctors running private hospitals.

With regard to the reported departmental action by Haryana drugs control department, Dr Kishore Kumar, the secretary of the QPMPA said the drug control officials have no right to raid the pharmacies of hospitals because it is the right to a doctor to keep drugs in his place of work. According to him the doctors’ community is exempted from drug licence under section 5 of Schedule K of the D&C Act, and it is a constitutional right enjoyed by them for the last 70 years. He said the drug authorities have misinterpreted Section 5 A in Schedule K to impose drug licence on all hospital pharmacies and thereby to bring the hospitals under their control.

After losing the case in the supreme court, and before that 21 years of fight in the high court of Kerala, the QPMPA informed the President of India Pratibha Patil and the Chief Justice of India that due to the ignorance of the bureaucracy one clause in item 5 of Schedule K in the D&C Act 1940 and Rules 1945 is misinterpreted and it needs amendment. Following it, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) invited the QPMPA office-bearers for a detailed discussion and interpretation of the clause in item 5 of the Schedule K of the Drugs & Cosmetics Act (D&C Act).

The Kerala High Court in its order of March 25, 2010 had mandated all pharmacies attached to private hospitals in Kerala, either for dispensing or for stocking drugs, to obtain licences from the drugs control department. Against this verdict, the QPMPA filed a review petition in the high court which was dismissed later. After that, the doctors association approached the Supreme Court which also did not give them a relief.

In Kerala, the drug control officials went one step ahead in enforcing the Act properly by strictly insisting the wholesalers not to supply medicines to the hospital pharmacies which have no licences. Ten wholesale dealers’ licences were cancelled by the department for not following the orders of the department.

But the doctors’ body got a severe setback from the high court while dismissing their petition. The Court ordered the Association to make a payment of Rs..10,000 as legal cost to the Kerala Legal Services Authority.

Source: Pharmabiz

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