Karnataka to mandate Govt doctors to prescribe In-house medicines

Kalaburagi: Government doctors working in hospitals attached to medical colleges across Karnataka will soon be required to prescribe only those medicines available in the hospital pharmacy. The state’s Medical Education Department is set to issue an official order enforcing this directive.

The move comes after the government observed that many poor patients visiting government hospitals were being advised to buy medicines from outside pharmacies, which they often couldn’t afford. This reportedly defeated the purpose of free treatment in government hospitals.  

Medical Education Minister Dr Sharan Prakash Patil shared the update while speaking to the media. He stated that the aim is to ensure patients, especially from economically weaker sections, receive treatment without having to spend money on medicines or private consultations.

Also read- Doctor Prescriptions Must Be Generic: Health Minister tells Parliament

To further support this initiative, the government has also decided not to allow the opening of private medical shops or Jan Aushadhi Kendras within hospital premises to prevent the patients from paying an amount for the medicines, as the doctors would give prescriptions and ask them to purchase medicines from the medical shops or Jan Aushadhi Kendras.

Dr Sharanaprakash told TNIE, "The medical education department would restrict the doctors serving in the hospitals attached to medical colleges in the state from giving prescriptions to the patients for purchasing medicine from outside, and an order would be issued in this regard in a day or two. There would be funds with the government hospitals; if any of the medicines were not in stock, the hospitals have to procure them and give them to the patients free of cost."

Soon, the Medical Education Department will issue orders restricting doctors from giving prescriptions to patients to purchase medicines from outside.

Medical Dialogues recently reported that the West Bengal health department decided to introduce e-prescriptions in all the state-run medical colleges and hospitals this year, emphasising the need for preserving the patient data and their case histories. State health department sources said that the state-run health centres where the E-prescription will be introduced from this year will include all state-run medical colleges & hospitals, district hospitals and primary health centres.

Also read- West Bengal: E-prescriptions in primary health centres to digitise patient data