MCI directs hospitals, doctors across India to prescribe generic medicines to patients

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New Delhi: In order to mitigate healthcare costs across the nation, the Medical Council of India (MCI) has directed all the hospitals, doctors and state medical council to prescribe generic medicines to patients.

This move comes few days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged at bringing a legal framework under which generic medicines should be given by the doctors and the healthcare system in India should have an extensive reach so that drugs are made available to all the people.

The MCI yesterday reminded doctors that prescriptions had to be legible, preferably in capital letters, and there had to be a "rational" prescription on the use of drugs, failing which "strict disciplinary action" would be taken.

The MCI has asked the medical community to follow its 2016 notification in which it had amended clause 1.5 of the Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulations, 2002, in this regard.

Recently, while inaugurating a multi-speciality hospital in Surat, PM Modi had said that doctors write prescriptions in such a way that poor people do not understand their handwriting and they end up buying medicines from private stores at high prices.

"All the registered medical practitioners under the IMC Act are directed to comply with the aforesaid provisions of the regulations without fail," said the MCI circular, issued to the deans, principals of medical colleges, directors of hospitals and presidents of all State Medical Councils.

The government is also revising the National List of Essential Medicines of 2015 to include more medicines. 

The Jan Aushadhi programme, under which the government provides essential medicines at reasonable rates at specially established shops, is also being reinforced.

(With PTI inputs)