Soon, prescription audit, Grievance redressal cell for doctor complaints at all hospitals

Jammu: Taking a slew of measures to rein in unethical and unfair practices in medical profession in Jammu Kashmir, the UT government has ordered setting up of a Grievance Redressal Mechanism for looking into complaints regarding professional misconduct by the doctors working in the government sector. Moreover, the health department will constitute committees to audit prescriptions to check unethical practices by government doctors. 

The main aim of setting up the Grievance Mechanism is to look into the grievances pertaining to the unethical practices and professional misconduct of doctors working in the government sector. As per an official order, a three-level mechanism has been put in place, starting from the district and sub-district levels, wherein a Nodal Officer shall be nominated by the Directorate, Health Services, Jammu and Kashmir and the Director, Indian System of Medicine, Jammu and Kashmir, Jammu.

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At the government medical colleges and dental colleges, the Nodal Officers shall be nominated by the respective colleges. The Health and Medical Education Department OSD has been nominated as the in-charge in the Administrative Department, who will coordinate with all the nodal officers, reports IANS. A monthly status report shall be sought by the In-charge Grievance Cell regarding unethical practices and professional misconduct lodged in the union territory.

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It has also been decided that the grievance redressal centre 104 being established by the NHM, Jammu and Kashmir, shall also be integrated into the Grievance Redressal Mechanism. The name and telephone numbers or nodal officers and In-charge grievance redressal cell in the Administrative Department will be circulated and published through print and electronic media.

On prescription audits, officials said that these committees will collect photocopies of at least one per cent of the total prescriptions issued every day from the out-patient and in-patient departments of medical institutions. Prescription audit committees will be formed at government medical colleges. and at district and sub-district levels

"The collected prescriptions will be scrutinised by the prescription audit committees to check whether it is written legibly in capital letters with the name of the doctor, his or her signature and registration number, generic drugs are prescribed and preference is given to drugs which are available free of cost at hospitals," a spokesperson at the government informed PTI. The spokesman said the committees will also scrutinise the prescriptions to see if unnecessary diagnostics test have not been prescribed and patients have not been referred to private clinics or specialists.

Medical Dialogues had earlier reported Atal Dulloo, the financial commissioner of Health and Medical Education Department, as saying that the audit of the prescriptions written by the doctors working in the government hospitals would be conducted to see whether the doctors are following the ethical guidelines and if found otherwise, action will be taken accordingly. He had said the audit would also check any contravention to provisions of the Drug and Cosmetic Act and Regulations, unnecessary diagnostic tests and arbitrary referrals to higher centres.

He also directed the officers to hold workshops to educate doctors about moral duties and responsibilities towards their patients and make them aware of what is covered in unethical acts and what constitutes professional misconduct.

Medical representatives will not be allowed inside the OPD to push their medicines in the prescription of the doctors.

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