An Amrit shop at PGI. (Express Archives)
A committee, constituted by the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) to study the difference in prices of medicines sold by chemists on the campus, has recommended in its report that the chemist shop located in the emergency of the Nehru building may be allotted to Amrit (Affordable Medicines and Reliable Implants for Treatment) once the former’s licence expires. The committee has also suggested that chemists should display the rates of medicines on the PGI website and update it daily.
On May 1, after a CNL investigation showed how the price of the same medicine varied by up to Rs 1,500 at different chemist shops on the PGI campus, Institute Director Dr Jagat Ram had announced that a special committee would look into the matter and come up with recommendations. Also, private pharmacies at PGI were selling the same brand of medicine at a much higher price than chemist shops outside.
The committee, which submitted the report this week, said the matter of medicine pricing was deliberated upon at length among all other issues by the committee. While the committee stated that the medicines are controlled by the Government of India and PGI has no role to play regarding the MRP, it has suggested that once the tenure of the private chemist shop located in the emergency wing ends, it may be allotted to AMRIT. At present, inside the Nehru emergency, there is only one chemist shop, which is run by a private company.
AMRIT outlets sell medicines at a huge discount, even up to 80 per cent. The outlets are run by the government-owned HLL Lifecare Ltd.
The committee, headed by Professor G D Puri, Sub-Dean of PGI and Head of the Department of Anaesthesia, has also recommended that the licensee chemist shops of PGI be regulated more strictly to bring transparency on MRP and approved discounts.
“The minimum discount on MRP should be displayed prominently by the respective licensee chemist. The chemists should be asked to display the rates on the PGI website and also on their respective websites and update the same daily,” read the report that has also been accessed by Chandigarh Newsline.
According to the recommendation, all future tenders for chemist shops should include the clause of display of rates on the PGI website. The committee has also stated that the proposed hospital pharmacy outlet at PGI’s Trauma Centre may be expedited. A senior PGI official told Chandigarh Newsline that the administration will review the report and subsequently after discussion, further action would be taken. “The institute will take all possible steps to provide relief to patients coming to the institute,” said the official.