Only 7 per cent citizens agree with NMC mandates of doctors prescribing generic drugs: Survey

A survey conducted by a community-based social media platform regarding generic medicine, revealed that just seven per cent of citizens agree with the mandates of doctors prescribing only the generic name of the drugs.

New Delhi: Against the backdrop of a controversy over the National Medical Commission’s (NMC) regulations regarding generic medicine, a survey revealed that just seven per cent of citizens agree with the mandates of doctors prescribing only the generic name of the drugs. The survey conducted by Local Circle, a community-based social media platform, revealed that India is one of the biggest manufacturers of generic medicines yet many people end up buying more expensive branded drugs or even generic branded drugs prescribed by doctors, even though cheaper and effective alternatives are available in the market.

“Of the 20,706 responses on the use of generic medicine, only 7 per cent of citizens surveyed were approving the NMC’s new regulation that the doctors should only provide the name of the generic drug when prescribing the medicines. Among the remaining respondents to this query, 60 per cent said they wanted their doctors to write the names of the branded drugs,” the survey pointed out.

At least 22 per cent favoured that the doctors should name the salt and as an example mention the name of a branded drug; seven per cent of respondents said the doctors to just prescribe the branded drug and in addition, four per cent of the respondents gave no reply, the survey said. On the issue of other guidelines of NMC restricting doctors and their family members from receiving any kind of commission or gratification, the survey found that 85 per cent of citizens supported NMC guidelines that restrict doctors and their family members from receiving any kind of commission or gratification.

“Of the 12,393 citizens, who responded to the query, 85 per cent indicated support for the NMC guidelines that restrict doctors and their family members from receiving any kind of commission or gratification from pharma, medical devices companies or pathology/ diagnostic labs, hospitals or other commercial establishments. Whereas the remaining 15 per cent of citizens surveyed did not agree with the NMC’s guidelines on the issue,” the survey pointed out.

The findings of the survey further said that 72 per cent of citizens believe their doctor(s) are receiving commission and extra income from several sources like labs, nursing homes and hospitals, pharmaceutical companies and chemists for use of their products or services.

The survey received over 43,000 responses from citizens residing in 326 districts of the country. Over 65 per cent of respondents were men while 35 per cent of respondents were women. The 44 per cent of respondents were from tier 1 cities, 35 per cent from tier 2 cities and 21 per cent people were from tier 3, 4 cities and rural districts.