Letters: Unhealthy practice

With reference to "Only a price controller" (May 30), the editorial has rightly highlighted the sad state of affairs in our clueless department of pharmaceuticals. Its raison d'être is "to make available quality medicines at affordable prices". Period! Sadly, it is not even touching that subject. Everyone is aware that most medicine manufacturers give between 30 and 40 per cent discount on MRP to bulk buyers. Barring some chains offering a 10 per cent discount to senior citizens, none of this is passed on to customers. In fact in almost all hospitals even this 10 per cent is denied and all billing to all patients is at MRP. Why should there be such huge margins?

A major fault lies with the doctors prescribing only one "branded medicine" instead of mentioning the salt or suggesting alternatives. This is where the huge discounts presumably get spent - kickbacks to the practitioners prescribing a brand of their choice. In the UK, the doctors only prescribe a salt and it is left to the chemist to offer all alternatives to the patient - a healthy practice that has stood the test of time. There is also the huge unethical and corrupt sector of "fake" medicines, causing incalculable loss to patients including risk to lives. Not enough is being done by the department to check this, by way of imposing fines and awarding punishment to those engaged in this nefarious practice.

Krishan Kalra, Gurgaon

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