AIIMS staff can now ‘self-prescribe’ some medicines

NEW DELHI: Doctors, nurses and other staff at AIIMS, can now self-prescribe certain over-the-counter drugs under the hospital’s Employees Health Scheme (EHS). So far, those who wished to avail such medicines under the EHS had to go through a tedious procedure of registration and consultation through the EHS facility. 

However, with the latest direction, a doctor’s prescription will not be required before availing certain drugs such as paracetamol, zinc and vitamin tablets from the EHS pharmacy. The EHS facility has been asked to make a list of such drugs before the implementation of the direction which will come into effect from January 1.

According to officials, the move aims to save time and cut the long queue of EHS beneficiaries at the facility.  “A staff member has to pass through three counters of registration, consultation and pharmacy of EHS facility even to take basic medicines like paracetamol. The beneficiaries had to wait for hours to get the medicines which resulted in lack of patients’ care. Now with the new order, there will be no need to consult a doctor or get a prescription to avail certain drugs,” said an AIIMS official.

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“It has been noted that employees have to wait in long queues for fetching their prescribed medicines from the EHS pharmacy. This causes inconvenience to the employees and their family members. It also compromises patient care as employees are away from duty to collect their medicines,” the direction read. 
“To make EHS more employee-friendly and to increase transparency, self-prescription facility from within a pre-defined list shall be extended for all EHS beneficiaries who are permitted by law to prescribe medicines. EHS facility shall finalise this pre-defined list by 31 December 2022,” it added.

AIIMS nurses union also welcomed the move and said it will strengthen the EHS service. “We thank the institute’s director on behalf of all beneficiaries of EHS in AIIMS. Nurses Union has been demanding all these administrative measures to strengthen EHS services for a long time,” said Harish Kumar Kajla, president, AIIMS nurses union.