From: <b class="gmail_sendername">Gopal Dabade</b> <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:drdabade@gmail.com">drdabade@gmail.com</a>></span><br><div class="gmail_quote"><br><br><span style="color:rgb(63,63,63);font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif">h</span><a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Free-medicines-for-all-from-October/articleshow/14347633.cms" style="font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-size:12pt" target="_blank">ttp://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Free-medicines-for-all-from-October/articleshow/14347633.cms</a><br>
<div class="gmail_quote">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><b><span style="font-size:22.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";background:white">Free medicines for all from October</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";background:white">Kounteya Sinha, TNN | Jun 23, 2012, 01.51AM IST</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";background:white"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";background:white">NEW DELHI: India's ambitious policy to provide free medicines
to all patients attending a government health facility across the country will
be rolled out from October.<span> </span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><br>
<br>
<span style="background:white">Strongly backed by
Prime Minister<span> </span></span><a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Manmohan-Singh" target="_blank"><span style="color:windowtext;background:white;text-decoration:none">Manmohan Singh</span></a><span><span style="background:white"> </span><span style="background:white">himself,
the free-medicines-for-all scheme — being referred to as the "real game
changer" — has received its first financial allocation
from the<span> </span></span></span><a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Planning-Commission" target="_blank"><span style="color:windowtext;background:white;text-decoration:none">Planning Commission</span></a><span><span style="background:white"> </span><span style="background:white">for
2012-13.<span> </span></span></span><br>
<br>
<span style="background:white">At present, the
public sector provides healthcare to 22% of the country's population.<span> </span></span><br>
<br>
<span style="background:white">The ministry
estimates that this will increase to 52% by 2017 once medicines are provided
for free .<span> </span></span><br>
<br>
<span style="background:white">The ministry has
sent the National List of Essential Medicines, 2011, (348 drugs which includes
anti-AIDS, analgesics, anti-ulcers, anti psychotic, sedatives, anesthetic
agents, lipid lowering agents, steroids and anti platelet drugs) to all the
states to use as reference.<span> </span></span><br>
<br>
<span style="background:white">The states,
however, have been asked to create their own Essential Drugs List (EDL),
keeping in mind the diseases that worst affect them. Around 75% of the funds
under the scheme will be borne by the Centre, while the rest will be the
state's responsibility.<span> </span></span><br>
<br>
<span style="background:white">Around 5% of the
district funds will be allowed to be used to purchase drugs outside the EDL.
The Cabinet has approved the setting up of a<span> </span></span><a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Central-Procurement-Agency" target="_blank"><span style="color:windowtext;background:white;text-decoration:none">Central Procurement Agency</span></a><span><span style="background:white"> </span><span style="background:white">(CPA)
for bulk procurement of drugs.<span> </span></span></span><br>
<br>
<span style="background:white">The PMO has asked
the ministry to set up the CPA as early as possible. At present, 78% of the
entire health expenditure in India is from out of pocket (OOP). Purchasing
drugs alone accounts for 72% of this OOP expenditure.<span> </span></span><br>
<br>
<span style="background:white"></span><span style="background:white">They have also been
asked to devise standard treatment protocols in order to avoid unnecessary and
irrational treatments.<span> </span></span><br>
<br>
<span style="background:white">The states will procure drugs directly from manufacturer or importer
through an open tender. Companies applying for the tenders will have to have
GMP compliance certificate, a no conviction certificate and should have a
specified annual turnover. The drugs must carry a not-for-sale label printed on
the packaging.<span> </span></span><br>
<br>
<span style="background:white"></span><span style="background:white">A
district-level state-of-the-art warehouse will have to be set up by states to
store the drugs and a passport driven system will move the medicines to
district hospitals, CHCs and PHCs will then send the drugs to the sub centres.<span> </span></span><br>
<br>
<span style="background:white">It
is being made mandatory for all doctors in the public sector to prescribe
generic drugs and salt names and not brands. Action will be taken against
doctors found prescribing brands.<span> </span></span><br>
<br>
<span style="background:white"></span><span style="background:white">A Planning
Commission panel had said drug prices have shot up by 40% between 1996 and
2006. It said that during the same period the price of controlled drugs rose by
0.02%, while those in the EDL increased by 15%. The price of drugs that were
neither under price control, nor under the EDL grew by 137%.<span> </span></span><br>
<br>
<span style="background:white">The Commission says
39 million Indians are pushed to poverty because of ill health every year.
Around 30% in rural India didn't go for any treatment for financial constraints
in 2004. In urban areas, 20% of ailments were untreated for financial problems
the same year. About 47% and 31% of hospital admissions in rural and urban
India, respectively, were financed by loans and sale of assets.<span> </span></span><br>
<br>
<span style="background:white"></span><span style="background:white">Outpatient
expenditure increased from 30.63% to 46.16%. Catastrophic spending, or
percentage of households spending more than 10% of their overall income on
healthcare, is nearly 15% in states that have insurance in place as against 11%
in states that lack such policies</span></span></p><span class="HOEnZb"><font color="#888888"><span><font color="#888888"><div><br></div><a href="http://aidanindia.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">http://aidanindia.wordpress.com/</a><br>
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