Hurdles in Mandatory Generic Medicine Prescription
Verinder Jit Singh Virdi1, Money Gupta1★, Rohit Gupta2★ Corresponding author
- 1Departments of Pediatrics and Surgery, Gian Sagar Medical College, Patiala, Punjab, India.
- 2Phd Student, Public Affairs Program, Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University, USA.
Received: 14-06-2021; Revised: 29-08-2021; Accepted: 30-08-2021.
Volume 12, Issue 3 · pp. 115–119 · PUBLISHED 25 November 2021 · DOI: 10.4103/jpp.jpp_74_21
View on J Pharmacol. Pharmacother. original site ↗
ABSTRACT
Coronavirus pandemic has brought forth the urgency of providing affordable health care to everyone. Generic medicines are often one‑fourth to one‑tenth of the cost of the branded drugs, and so offer a remarkable opportunity to significantly lower the health‑care expenditure. However, the argument for promoting generic medicines is indisputable, we have to think about the other enabling conditions which are necessary for a successful health policy on encouraging generics without causing unintended adverse repercussions. This paper attempts to answer such questions by considering the motivations of the various stakeholders of the broader health services ecosystem in India and undertaking a systematic analysis of the winners and losers from such a policy. We argue that generic prescription will not be successful without prior improvement in the state capacity for quality control of drug manufacturing; rise in awareness among the doctors, patients, and pharmacists; improved trust in the medical systems; and innovative demand‑side interventions.
KEYWORDS
REFERENCES
As publishedShowing references and in-text citations exactly as published.
Cite this article
SELECT FORMAT
Virdi, V. J. S., Gupta, M., & Gupta, R. (2021). Hurdles in Mandatory Generic Medicine Prescription. Journal of Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapeutics, 12(3), 115–119. https://doi.org/10.4103/jpp.jpp_74_21