Patients will soon get medicines at heavily subsidised rates at the Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (IGIMS). The hospital is all set to start Affordable Medicines and Reliable Plants for Treatment (AMRIT) pharmacy under the centre-sponsored scheme.
AMRIT pharmacy is available only in a handful of hospitals in the country that include All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi, AIIMS-Jodhpur, North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS), Shillong, the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), Imphal.
Established in 1983, the IGIMS still does not have free-drug facility unlike the other state-run health facilities such as Patna Medical College and Hospital, Nalanda Medical College and Hospital among others.
Though the hospital has given a portion of its land to two private pharmacies and also has collaboration with a few private ones that provide cancer drugs at subsidised rates, the start of AMRIT is considered an achievement for the hospital. It will provide drugs and implants at subsidised rates.
The free drugs scheme at other government health facilities are mired in controversy, as the availability of free drugs have been hugely hit in government hospitals after a drug scam was busted in 2014.
"We have signed a memorandum of understanding with the HLL Lifecare Limited, a Union government enterprise which runs the AMRIT stores. The company officials will visit the hospital on Monday and the facility will be operational by October," said medical superintendent of IGIMS Prabhat Kumar Sinha, adding that the pharmacy will provide drugs and implants at 50 per cent lesser price than the actual.
On how AMRIT will help patients, Sinha said: "Chemotherapy drugs such as Carboplatin (450mg), which comes at Rs 2,561 per capsule would be available at Rs 1,316 at the shop. Some cancer patients need targeted treatment and particular drugs are prescribed to them for several weeks and months. The cost of the chemotherapy increases because of the costly medicines involved. AMRIT will provide medicines at subsidised rates. This will bring down the treatment cost. The shop will also provide orthopaedic, cardiac and other implants at subsidised rates. Subsidised drugs and implants will be provided at both in-patient and out-patient departments."
Even people, who are not being treated at IGIMS, can purchase medicines from the store. Apart from medicines at subsidised rates, the hospital is also planning to introduce a package for certain treatment, which would free patients and their attendants of the botheration of purchasing medicines and other related items during the course of treatment.
"The bed, the drugs and the treatment charges will be included in the package. This system already exists in city private hospitals," said Sinha.
Patients and attendants were happy with the development.
Ramesh Kumar Sinha, an attendant of a patient at the hospital, said: "It's a huge relief for many. Patients will benefit till the time drugs are available 24x7."
