The new regulations issued by the National Medical Commission(NMC) states that all doctors must prescribe generic drugs, failing which they will be penalised, and even their license to practice may also be suspended for a period.

The NMC in its ‘Regulations relating to Professional Conduct of Registered Medical Practitioners” has also asked doctors to avoid prescribing branded generic drugs.

The NMC regulations notified on August 2, say that India’s out-of-pocket spending on medications accounts for a major proportion of public spending on healthcare. “Generic medicines are 30 to 80% cheaper than branded drugs. Hence, prescribing generic medicines may overtly bring down healthcare costs and improve access to quality care,” it said.

The NMC defined generic medicines as a “drug product that is comparable to brand/reference listed product in dosage form, strength, route of administration, quality and performance characteristics, and intended use”.

“Every RMP (registered medical practitioner) should prescribe drugs using generic names written legibly and prescribe drugs rationally, avoiding unnecessary medications and irrational fixed-dose combination tablets,” the regulation stated.

In case of violations, a doctor may be given the warning to be more careful about the regulations or instructed to attend a workshop or academic programme on ethics, personal and social relations, and/or professional training. On repeated violations, the doctor’s license to practice may be suspended for a particular period, the regulations added.

Additionally, the NMC said prescriptions should be legible and preferably written in all caps to avoid misinterpretation, adding that as far as possible, prescriptions should be typed and printed to avoid errors.

A template has also been provided by the NMC that may be used for writing prescriptions rationally.

(With inputs from PTI)