A survey conducted by the India office of the international non-governmental organisation, Transparency International, reveals that, according to people’s actual experiences, the health service is the most corrupt service sector in India. It ranks India as one of the 30 most corrupt countries in the world. Indifferent treatment of patients, unofficial payments to providers, lack of patient privacy, and inadequate provision of medicines and supplies are some of the most common demerits and malpractices prevailing in the health services in India.

The survey, conducted with private marketing research company ORG-Marg Research, interviewed some 5000 citizens in a household survey to assess the public’s perception of corruption. It covered 10 sectors with a direct bearing on people’s lives, including education, health, the police, the judiciary, and power utilities.

Too high medicinal cost accompanied by doctor’s consultation fees has made the proper medical treatment to become out of the reach of Indian common man, especially in the rural areas where neither licensed medical stores nor qualified doctors are available and malpractices of the Primary Health Centres, available generally in rural towns only, are well known and are practically forfeiting the veritable purpose of PHC’s there. As a result thereof, not only the market of non-qualitative and banned drugs and medicines is flourishing day by day, but the unqualified doctors also are emerging fast and plundering the poor mass. On account of insufficient availability of generic medicines (patent based medicines which are cheaply produced by another process) the patients are compelled to purchase high priced branded medicines.

An analysis of drug market in India by the ‘World Health Organisation’ (WHO) also reveals that Indian pharmaceutical companies are charging very high prices of medicines from patients. In India, the pharmaceutical companies are earning profits even up to ten times or more of the production cost in case of both branded and unbranded medicines. Not only is this, but the companies, by printing high retail price, are letting the sellers too to earn abnormal profits. Like the ratio between production cost and whole sale price, in many cases the retail price also is ten times or more of the whole sale price. The anti-allergic tablet named as ‘Citrazine’ of ‘Cipla Pharmaceuticals’ is an example. High retail prices of patented and generic medicines are making the general mass to resort to unauthentic and duplicate medicines produced by unlicensed pharmaceutical units. That is why the influence of unauthentic, unlicensed and duplicate medicine producing units in Indian drug market is day by day increasing whereby the people are being badly hit on account of low effectiveness and severe side-effects of the medicines produced by these companies. Many times the doctors too, having been affected by the commission based and gift based sale strategies of the companies producing duplicate medicines, prescribe these medicines without paying heed to the compositions and the bad effects on health on account of the use of these medicines. In some cases the sellers (chemists) let aside the prescription of doctor and sell these medicines especially to the illiterate or docile customers. Not only is this, but the manufacturing companies of these medicines also establish their links even to the government medicine purchasing authorities and seek supply orders. Not only the substandard medicines but even those harmful medicines are being produced and sold in bulks in the Indian market which stand banned at international level.  

Medicines are very precious for human life and have become at present a good part of trade. Therefore, the government should take strong and effective steps to make the qualitative and cheap medicines easily available to the people. The government also should take proper measures against malpractices prevailing in the market of medicines and should instil awareness of medicine consumers against these malpractices. Such organisations should be encouraged which manufacture medicines according to the international standards but at low cost so as to make cheap medicines available in the market. The ‘Low Cost Standard Therapeutics (LOCOST)’ trust at Baroda is a good example of such an organisation. This trust is making cheap production in 90 formulations of about 60 necessary medicines to cater the need of poor and needy patients. Moreover, The launching of the ‘public use medicines easy availability programme’ by the Department of Pharmaceuticals of the central government through 100 public stores of generic drugs, planned to be opened up to December 2009, is worth appreciation.

To solve the problems like that of substandard medicines, harmful and banned medicines and unjustified profit margin a central drugs regulatory system has now become acutely and pressingly needed. The issue of permission as regards to the trading of imported medicines also will be settled by such regulatory system.

The government is encouraging and helping the establishment of small pharmaceutical units. Similar cooperation should be extended to the market extension of their products. The condition of minimum turnover should be relaxed in case of small units. In the present period of prevailing depression the small and medium pharmaceutical industries should be helped through stimulus package to protect them in big market. This type of measures will protect the poor and general medical consumers against their being plundered through high prices by providing them cheap medicines. Moreover, it will help making India a medicine hub.

Studies have shown that health care utilisation has been a long standing concern for most of the developing countries and is sensitive to user perceptions of quality. Patient perceptions of health services thence form an important part of health care quality assessment.  Therefore, ways and means should be found out to give potentiality to important elements of making the health system adequately effective to make health services fully responsive to people’s needs and expectations.

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Sigma Health Care a home health and disease management organization, headquartered in Galveston Texas was established in 1997 by Amer Taha. Taha started Sigma with aa mission, vision and a philosophy all focused on the fact that health and medical care can be provided in the patient home in a more efficient and organized fashion if technology is introduced and utilized properly. As a result; in 2002, Taha started and directed a research and development Department within the organization. The …

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Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – A Note on Health Services and Drug Market in India

Government cutbacks on NHS staff have been felt heavily by qualified nurses looking to obtain positions within the health service. However, new independent research carried out with the elderly may hold out a ray of hope for frustrated and skilled nurses who are currently out of the employment loop.

The independent research was conducted during November 2006, by TNS Face to Face Services on behalf of Consultus Care & Nursing Agency, with adults aged 75 and over. The results have revealed an overwhelmingly strong preference for live-in nursing: 88% (of adults aged 75 and over) preferring to receive long-term nursing care at home compared to 7% who would prefer a nursing home.

At a time when nurses who have been let down by government overspending are in need of opportunities to utilise their skills, the results of the survey make for encouraging news. An increase in live-in nursing care might also ensure that at least some of the estimated 600 million spent on health care training by the government in 2005 is not wasted: firms such as Consultus giving well-trained staff an opportunity to build on their skills rather than nurses choosing alternative career paths.

The research also raises questions pertaining to the plight of the elderly, many of whom are currently forced into nursing homes without other options being made available to them.

Philippa Easterbrook, a Registered Nurse based in Powys, currently working with Consultus, commented on the recently released research findings in relation to 87% of respondents who agreed that live-in nursing should be more readily available through the NHS.

“Everybody should be offered the choice – rehab patients, people who’ve had operations – if it’s the right option for them and their health, of course they should.”

Her colleague, Lorna Shaw agreed.

“It should be more available…and people don’t realise the funding is there for special category patients. But social workers won’t offer it because it can be more expensive. Patients need to be educated about this so they can put pressure on the local authorities or the health authorities to give them what’s best for them.”

The research, which is the first of its kind, has underlined the strong views held by the elderly about where they choose to be nursed. Paradoxically at a time when Trusts hit worst by the NHS budget crisis are cutting back on nurses, there is a real demand for live-in nurses.

These skilled health care workers are able to give clients the 24/7 nursing care that they clearly want, whilst a choice of working weeks enables more nurses to remain in the profession that they have chosen. The reality is that live-in Nursing can provide an economical solution to both patients and nurses.

The next question is inevitably funding for live-in nursing patients, Kevin May Registered Manager of Consultus Care feels there is access to available funding for live-in nursing and in some cases sees this as a desirable option for an NHS system currently facing huge deficits.

“The ‘NHS Continuing Care Scheme’ headed up by the Primary Care Trusts (PCT) does provide funding for those who need either long term or palliative care outside of hospital. In order to ascertain whether a client would be eligible for funding a panel of local health and social care advisors such as district nurses, GPs and members of the local health authority meet to decide whether the clients needs are sufficiently deserving of Continuing Care, and what the most appropriate location for that care would be. The patients view is taken into account in these matters in terms of whether they would choose to be cared for at home or in a nursing home – the final decision being dependent on the criteria set by the local PCT or health board.”

“There are also options available to local PCT’s, to offer live-in nursing as an alternative, which are beneficial to the NHS system itself, enabling clients to leave hospital earlier and preventing bed blocking or even hospital admission.”

“Acute Trusts which administer the General Hospitals charge the PCT’s a higher fee if the patient being cared for in hospital has a certain condition – in some cases higher than costs for live-in nursing. In this sense, live-in nursing can be a financially beneficial option for the trusts – actually cutting costs for the NHS.”

It seems live-in nursing which is often deemed to be a more costly option could now be seen as a realistic solution to many of today’s financial ailments where the National Health Service is concerned – full time, one-to-one nursing at home recognised as not only qualitatively very desirable for many patients but also fiscally a better option for the NHS itself.

For further information on Consultus Care & Nursing, a live-in nursing specialist please contact Kevin May on 01732 355231 or visit www.consultuscare.com

Research highlights:

- After a spell in hospital 91% said they would prefer to convalesce in their own home compared with 1% who would choose a hospital ward.

- 87% agreed that live-in nursing should be more readily available through the NHS and 89% agreed that more information should be made available.

- The possibility of going into a nursing home concerned most people with over a third feeling very concerned.

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Corporations Board of Directors and Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport Commissions Board of Directors. In 1997, President Clinton appointed him to the Federal Advisory Commission on Consumer Protection and Quality in the Health Care Industry. In 1995, Mr. Warden served as chairman of the American Hospital Associations Board of Trustees, and was a member of the Pew Health Professions Commission, the National Commission on Civic Renewal and past chairman of the Health Research …

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