20.1.15

Of Jan Aushadhi Drugs....


You may be able to buy nearly 500 low-cost drugs supplied by the government at your neighbourhood pharmacy from July under Jan Aushadhi brand if a plan proposed by an expert panel is implemented. The drugs are likely to cost 50-95% less than their private branded counterparts.The medicines selected under the scheme span six therapeutic categories including cardiovascular, diabetes, respiratory and antibiotics.
Under this proposal, the government plans to start procuring from private players to resuscitate the fledgling Jan Aushadhi scheme which operates through a chain of brick-and-mortar stores and is completely dependent on the handful of public sector units for drug supply that makes it vulnerable to frequent stock-outs.
A government commissioned consultancy tasked with preparing a new viable business plan for the project in 2013 estimated that only 84 such shops are functional of the 149 odd that were set up since the scheme's inception in 2008 and despite the mandate to store 319 drugs, only 85 drugs across 11 therapeutic groups were supplied to the stores.
A limited portfolio of medicines coupled with chronic stock-outs has seriously eroded the credibility of these stores as customers desire a one-stop shop for all prescribed drugs, the consultancy found. A study found the mean availability of drugs at these stores stood at only 33%.
The department of pharmaceuticals, the nodal ministry for implementation of the scheme, has reached out to the doctors urging them to prescribe generic drugs.
The doctors will be mobilised to prescribe by salt names with Jan Aushadhi in brackets.
The government is planning to implement the proposal in phases and at a later stage may mandate that all chemists in the country stock Jan Aushadhi products.
The Indian Medical association has also suggested that the government consider similar plans for medical devices such as stents. The government has been toying with different ideas to make the promising idea of Jan Aushadhi a success story.
Experts said keeping a check on quality while implementing such plans can emerge as a major challenge. 

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