Mir Farhat
Srinagar, Feb 26: Contrary to the Government claims that the new drug policy is in force in the State three years after it was enacted by the then NC-Congress regime, it has been confined to papers only and not implemented completely.
Envisaged to rationalize the number of drug licences in the State and prescribe generic drugs and their sale within the Government hospitals, the policy was put in place in 2013 to also check growth of spurious drugs and adulteration of brands that waste a lot of patients’ money.
While the Drug and Food Control Organisation (DFCO) claims that it is in place in the Government hospitals, authorities in many hospitals said that it has not been enforced fully.
“The new drug policy has been implemented in the State-run hospitals after it was passed by the previous Government. The hospitals procure generic drugs through tendering. It will be gradually implemented in the private-run health sector after a year,” Nazir Ahmad, Drug Controller of the State, told Excelsior.
However, Medical Superintendent of SMHS Dr Nazir Choudhary told Excelsior that the drug policy has not been implemented fully.
Another SMHS official said that when the drug policy was approved by the then Government some paperwork took place but soon it stopped.
“Had it been in place then all the drugs should have been available in the hospitals, which is not the case,” he said.
As per the policy, only those drugs on the essential list would be procured and the drugs would be selected taking into account the demand, lead time, transportation and emergency needs. An inventory control system was also to be put in place to prevent excessive stocking of medicines.
In the absence of the complete enforcement of the new drug policy, distribution of the spurious drugs has been continuing unabated in the State which is endangering lives of consumers.
According to the official figures of DFCO, there has been increase in the flow of substandard drugs to the state in the last four years. DFCO had found 21 drugs substandard in the year 2010-2011, while in 2013-2014 the number of drugs found substandard increased to 138.
Pertinently, the policy was also opposed by the wholesale and retail dealers in pharmaceutical products, claiming that it would severely affect their trade.
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