PUNE: Criticising the current system of medicine procurement and distribution in the state, health activists in the city have reiterated that it's high time the state adopted the tried and tested 'Tamil Nadu model.'
"The recent decision to employ e-tender system for procurement of generic medicines for the government health facilities is a step forward. But it is too inadequate. The real need is to adopt the tried and tested 'Tamil Nadu (TN) model' for procurement and distribution of medicines, which is in place since 1995," said senior health activist Anant Phadke of the Jan Arogya Abhiyaan (JAA), a network of NGOs working on health issues in Maharashtra.
The JAA has demanded that the TN model should be fully adopted in the state (with minor modifications, if needed), instead of indulging in experiments. "When Kerala has adopted it and other states like Rajasthan and Bihar are in the process, why Maharashtra is indulging in experiments? The system for procurement and distribution of medicines in Maharashtra requires complete overhaul and not half baked, ill-conceived experiments," said Phadke.
Phadke elaborated: "In Tamil Nadu, all indoor, outdoor patients in government health facilities get all medicines free. As a result, 40% of patients seek care in these centres. The per capita government expenditure on medicines in Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu is Rs 20 and Rs 29 respectively. However, despite five years of the National Rural Health Mission, Maharashtra's performance about supply of medicines to patients is not even one third of Tamil Nadu."
The success of the Tamil Nadu system has not been merely due to e-tendering but also due to other main factors, such as full professional autonomy to the Tamil Nadu Medical Service Corporation (TNMSC), which is completely transparent in its procurement and distribution system.
Sharing the view, health activist Suhas Kolhekar said, "There is a demand-responsive system of medicine distribution in Tamil Nadu. For example, each PHC can choose medicines and their quantity as per the need within the budget of Rs 1 lakh, by using a passbook in which entries are made as medicines are lifted by the PHC from the stock. On the contrary, in Maharashtra, PHCs are supplied medicines irrespective of their needs. This supply driven system leads to unused stocks of some medicines in some PHCs and their shortage in other establishments," Kolhekar said.
Moreover, now, in the new system of distribution that is being planned, private contractors would supply medicines from regional warehouses to PHCs. This experiment of privatisation is likely fail or run into problems and hence the chronic gross shortage of medicines in PHCs, rural hospitals is likely to continue, he added.
"The recent decision to employ e-tender system for procurement of generic medicines for the government health facilities is a step forward. But it is too inadequate. The real need is to adopt the tried and tested 'Tamil Nadu (TN) model' for procurement and distribution of medicines, which is in place since 1995," said senior health activist Anant Phadke of the Jan Arogya Abhiyaan (JAA), a network of NGOs working on health issues in Maharashtra.
The JAA has demanded that the TN model should be fully adopted in the state (with minor modifications, if needed), instead of indulging in experiments. "When Kerala has adopted it and other states like Rajasthan and Bihar are in the process, why Maharashtra is indulging in experiments? The system for procurement and distribution of medicines in Maharashtra requires complete overhaul and not half baked, ill-conceived experiments," said Phadke.
Phadke elaborated: "In Tamil Nadu, all indoor, outdoor patients in government health facilities get all medicines free. As a result, 40% of patients seek care in these centres. The per capita government expenditure on medicines in Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu is Rs 20 and Rs 29 respectively. However, despite five years of the National Rural Health Mission, Maharashtra's performance about supply of medicines to patients is not even one third of Tamil Nadu."
The success of the Tamil Nadu system has not been merely due to e-tendering but also due to other main factors, such as full professional autonomy to the Tamil Nadu Medical Service Corporation (TNMSC), which is completely transparent in its procurement and distribution system.
Sharing the view, health activist Suhas Kolhekar said, "There is a demand-responsive system of medicine distribution in Tamil Nadu. For example, each PHC can choose medicines and their quantity as per the need within the budget of Rs 1 lakh, by using a passbook in which entries are made as medicines are lifted by the PHC from the stock. On the contrary, in Maharashtra, PHCs are supplied medicines irrespective of their needs. This supply driven system leads to unused stocks of some medicines in some PHCs and their shortage in other establishments," Kolhekar said.
Moreover, now, in the new system of distribution that is being planned, private contractors would supply medicines from regional warehouses to PHCs. This experiment of privatisation is likely fail or run into problems and hence the chronic gross shortage of medicines in PHCs, rural hospitals is likely to continue, he added.