Thiruvananthapuram: Proposal to make generic names mandatory in the prescription of medicines. The Principal Secretary of the Health Department stated that the doctors have been given clear instructions to write the generic name in the prescription so that the patients can read it.
In 2014, the government issued an order to write generic names as per the recommendations of the Medical Council of India. The intervention of the principal secretary of the state health department was following a complaint of non-compliance.
The Principal Secretary of the Health Department stated that instructions have been given to prescribe the medicine in a way that is understandable and not to give maximum prescriptions to pharmacies outside the government system and disciplinary action will be taken against the doctors who violate it.
Companies market drugs under different brand names. All medicines have a chemical name, a generic name, and a brand name. But doctors write only the brand name in the prescription. Only the drugs of the companies that the doctor is interested in are available on prescription. By misleading the doctors that their medicine is better than other companies’ medicines, the companies are tempting the patients with their brand.
Many of the drugs currently prescribed by doctors are available only on the premises of their hospital or clinic. Brand names become irrelevant as generic names become mandatory. Prescribing expensive brands to patients can also be avoided.
