when it withdrew part of the field staff and attached them to the testing labs.
The CDSCO has also jumped in and collected 156 samples in addition to the 431 samples that state drug organization lifted in last one month. The only assurance that the state government has is that CDSCO will do 100 sample tests for the state every month. That still will not make a big difference.
That is precisely why Omar Abdullah is seeking help from the private sector. In the next 45 days the state government will empanel and accredit drug testing labs from the private sector. It has already approached Karnataka government for permissions for testing various injectables.
This crisis will affect the JKMSC as well. The prevailing practice is to lift the samples from the market and test them while the retailers sell and patients consume. As the government is planning amending the Pharmacy Act, it should become a norm that every drug must undergo a test at approved facilities through government before it is supplied to the market. The prevailing margins in the drug costs will manage these expenses without burdening the patient.
In the given situation, the government is keen to encourage the Jan Aushadhi Abhiyan (JAA) – a Union Department of Pharmaceutical campaign started in 2008 offering unbranded generic drugs at a much lower cost than the branded ones with same quality and efficacy, in the state. Of the 147 JAA stores operational across India, J&K has only two stores, one each in Leh and Srinagar as the process to open one each in Anantnag and Jammu is in the fast track mode. These stores sell around 320 drugs now. Interestingly, in Srinagar the JAA store is located deep in Lal Chowk in the premises of Indian Red Cross Society (IRCS), far away from any of the hospital in Srinagar. It is operational since May 10, 2011. IRCS was mandated to manage JAA stores across J&K but is facing an administrative inertia. This has led an NGO Help Poor Foundation to run a store near Iqbal Park where it sells branded drugs at the cost the companies supply.
In principle, the government has decided to have one such store in all the district hospitals. While it will reduce costs of well being, the quality issues will get solved automatically because manufacturing is assured, so far. Health Ministry has already sent a team to Jan Ashudhi Bureau to explore the possibilities of direct procurement for the hospitals.
