Jan Aushadhi outlets have not so far reasonably relieved Indians of unfair MRP Tags on ‘Branded Generic’ medicines, Why?

Daya Sagar
A press release of Ministry of Chemical Fertilizers bearing the logos of PMDBI/ Jan Aushadhi ( JA) that appeared in the media on 7th March (on the eve of 7th March the 8th Jan Aushadhi Divas has also said that 18000+ Jan Aushadhi Kendras that operate in country with 2110 medicines & 310 medical devices in the basket with items priced 50% to 80% lesser than the branded medicines have helped citizens to save at least Rs.40000 Cr meaning that so far in last 17 years Jan Aushadhi Kendras have sold medicines worth MRP of app Rs.10000 Cr. By that standards even if JA medicines sold by PMBJAP would have taken just half the quantity of medicines that the market needed on the basis of MRP of ‘branded generic medicines’i.e 50% of Rs.5 Lakh Cr sales would have taken over Rs.2.5 Lakh Cr market / yr for which the cost to the citizens would have been just Rs.0.5 Lakh Cr and saved Rs.200,000 Cr in a year. Imagine what a loss has been suffered by the citizens over the years ( 17 years) . Had such feed back been given to the Prime Minister of India/ Minister of Chemical & Fertilizers and Minister of Health & Family Welfare would have taken serious reformative actions. Imagine difference between Rs.40000 Cr saved in 17 years and Rs.2 Lakh Cr possible savings of unfair costs in just one year.

Jan Aushadhi Medicines are priced much less not because Government gives some subsidy ::Jan Aushadhi Medicine MRP tag is much less because price is not unfairly Inflated . JA medicines are not cheap they are genuinely priced . JA medicines are not for the poor , they are for all.
Even the approach towards promotion of use of Jan Aushadhi medicines through the Jan Aushadhi stores or medicines that are free from any patent rights which can cover atleast upto 90 % of diseases / 95% of the patients manufactured by any pharma company and sold under a generic name need be remodelled so as to increase the number of patients visiting the JAKendras or put the private pharma companies under pressure so as to force them to reduce the MRP price tags . This way the number of JA outlets would increase or the private brand outlets too with reasonable prices would be there.
Even introductory and promotional slogans need be remodeled like :-
Medicines in Jan Aushadhi stores are not cheap medicines, they are medicines labelled with genuine /fair MRP Medicines in PMBJP Stores are not for ‘poor’ people they are for people from all economic strata There is no subsidy from GOI on these medicines still they cost so less * Promoting Agencies are also occasionally found naming JA as ‘cheap medicines’, ‘medicines for poor’ that too harms PM’s Mission’ and should be avoided*
Many questions need be answered like :1 Do the implementing agencies of JA Programme have any right for celebrating their ‘performance’? 2. Should not the agencies responsible to collect direct and indirect taxes be also questioned for ‘not’ taking notice of industry collecting so much of extra money and have the tax returns been matching ? 3. Why the government have still allowed the Pharma Companies to label their drugs with so irrational, so high and so unfair MRPs ? 4.Why even Government Doctors too have not ‘religiously’ taken to prescription writing by generic name ? 5.Since the medicines are labelled with chemical name only it has been observed that in some cases the name printed on strips is either not easily readable/ the font is very small ( to quote it could be Bisoprolol 5mg strip ) . The elderly people face more problem. In earlier years there used to be pasted a white paper slip also on the strips which was useful but now that is not there. This is also one of the negative features that comes in the way of promotion and may be it has not been taken notice seriously by those responsible for promotion of JA why ? .
Prescription Audit in government Hospitals should be enforced religiously 24×7 and the Audit Committee/ units must have Pharmacologist in the lead role there. Similarly to promote use of Medicines by Chemical / Generic name there can be a regular programme for honouring the doctors socially who profess & write prescriptions by chemical name / generic name, also keep atleast those ‘government doctors’ under strict vigilance who do not write prescription by chemical name at least for patent free medicines . Report those doctors who write by brand name even where there are Government orders for writing prescription by chemical name.
Involve voluntary organisations /social workers to take the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s intentions to all doctors requesting them to write prescriptions by chemical name and also motivate the common man to accept the medicines sold by chemical name even if prescribed by Brand name by a doctor & visit a Jan Aushadhi store for advice on equivalent as may be available. Going by the present status it will not be wrong to observe that Prime Minister appears ‘single handedly’ taking direct stresses for truthful execution of all social& welfare programmes, particularly like Jan Aushadhi Pariyojna and hence there is must need for providing him honestly feedback on Jan Aushadhi and involving social organizations would be helpful in that.
Production, promotion and distribution of Jan Aushadi medicines is in a way so far intimately handled only by Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers . J.P Nadda Minister for Chemicals & Fertilizers who is also Minister of Health & Family mostly is seen referring the PMBJAP at occasions . But very less appears in media for the Health Departments of States in reference to promotion of use of Jan Aushadhi medicines which need to be also intimately involved for sharing the responsibility for use of JA medicines / enforcement of medicine prescriptions with chemical name/ generic name ( atleast in government by government doctors including those even retired).
Only PM Modi has been intimately promoting JA . Had prescription writing by Chemical name been enforced Lakhs of Cr of INR of common man out of pocket money would not have been unduly ‘Fleeced’ atleast over last 17 years . When PM can work as promoter of a welfare programme why can not the ‘those’ responsible below?
(The writer is Sr Journalist, social activist and analyst J&K affairs)