VIJAYAWADA: As per the draft released by the Central government on ‘Charter of patients’ rights’ the doctors shouldn’t force the patients to buy medicines from their recommended pharmacy. Reacting to this, the doctors doing private practice in city said that the in-house pharmacists and doctors had a good understanding, which helped patients in getting better medicines and that was why they recommend purchase of medicines from a particular pharmacist.
Currently, almost all the private hospitals in Vijayawada city have in-house pharmacies and a good number of doctors prescribe medicines and ask the patients to get them from their own pharmacies. And the patients claim that the medicines prescribed by these doctors are not ‘available in any other medical store, but in the hospital pharmacies only’.
Speaking to TNIE, Dr M Usha Rani, a gynecologist of the city said, “People do think that we take commission from the pharmacists. But before recommending a scanning centre or pharmacy we consider many things, such as whether the equipment in the centre are accurate or not. We however, never force them to get medicines only from one pharmacy.”Dr S Suresh, convenor of Praja Arogya Vedika said, “It is a good move to include such sensitive things in the charter of patients’ rights.”