Patients Should Have the Right to Choose Their Medicine Brands: Medkart Pharmacy

AHMEDABAD: Does your doctor follow the Ethics of MCI (Medical Council of India), and write the generic name of drugs and not brand names on the prescription?

99% of practicing doctors write brand names in illegible handwriting which is in clear violation of the code.

On May 13, 2016, the Drugs Technical Advisory Board (DTAB) of the Union health ministry had turned down a proposal by the ministry to amend Rule 65 of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945 to provide that the chemist may offer for supply a drug formulation containing the same ingredients but in generic or other cheaper brand name. It felt that there is no guarantee that the bio availability of the generic medicine so offered by the chemist will be the same as prescribed by the physician and the lack of same effectiveness of the generic medicine may lead to harmful effect on the patient.

This, however, is in complete contradiction to the MCI Code of ethics which says "Every physician should, as far as possible, prescribe drugs with generic names and he or she shall ensure that there is a rational prescription and use of drugs."

The FDCA however continues to approve drugs according to the generic names and their quality standards prescribed.

Globally, the USFDA notes: "Any generic drug ed after a single, brand name drug must perform approximately the same in the body as the brand name drug. There will always be a slight, but not medically important, level of natural variability just as there is for one batch of brand name drug compared to the next batch of brand name product. This amount of difference would be expected and acceptable, whether for one batch of brand name drug tested against another batch of the same brand, or for a generic tested against a brand name drug."

All these are not coherent and forces us to believe that there are vested interests behind such decisions. A recent book 'Dissenting Diagnostics' talks about the ill-practices and its origin in a profession which is portrayed closest to GOD.

Does your doctor follow the Ethics of MCI (Medical Council of India), and write the generic name of drugs and not brand names on the prescription?

99% of practicing doctors write brand names in illegible handwriting which is in clear violation of the code.

On May 13, 2016, the Drugs Technical Advisory Board (DTAB) of the Union health ministry had turned down a proposal by the ministry to amend Rule 65 of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945 to provide that the chemist may offer for supply a drug formulation containing the same ingredients but in generic or other cheaper brand name. It felt that there is no guarantee that the bio availability of the generic medicine so offered by the chemist will be the same as prescribed by the physician and the lack of same effectiveness of the generic medicine may lead to harmful effect on the patient.

This, however, is in complete contradiction to the MCI Code of ethics which says "Every physician should, as far as possible, prescribe drugs with generic names and he or she shall ensure that there is a rational prescription and use of drugs."

The FDCA however continues to approve drugs according to the generic names and their quality standards prescribed.

Globally, the USFDA notes: "Any generic drug ed after a single, brand name drug must perform approximately the same in the body as the brand name drug. There will always be a slight, but not medically important, level of natural variability just as there is for one batch of brand name drug compared to the next batch of brand name product. This amount of difference would be expected and acceptable, whether for one batch of brand name drug tested against another batch of the same brand, or for a generic tested against a brand name drug."

All these are not coherent and forces us to believe that there are vested interests behind such decisions. A recent book 'Dissenting Diagnostics' talks about the ill-practices and its origin in a profession which is portrayed closest to GOD.

Author: Medkart Pharmacy