Give patients a choice

Refer to ‘Fleecing patients’; the high cost of medicines in private hospitals continues to trouble patients; under pressure from pharmaceutical companies, doctors prefer prescribing expensive branded drugs. Despite the availability of affordable generic medicines, lack of awareness and accessibility forces patients to bear a huge financial burden. Government-run Jan Aushadhi Kendras, meant to provide low-cost generics, face consistent shortages and quality concerns, further limiting the options. To curb this exploitation, it must be made mandatory for doctors to mention the generic name alongside branded prescriptions, giving patients a choice. Strengthening drug regulation and improving the availability of quality generics can ensure fair pricing in healthcare and protect patients from undue monetary strain.

Balbir Singh Kakkar, Jalandhar

Quality of generic medicines

Apropos of ‘Fleecing patients’; Jan Aushadhi Kendras help in providing generic medicines at cheap prices. However, people remain preoccupied with quality concerns. A thorough overhaul of the regulatory system is required to dispel apprehensions. Vigilance needs to be maintained on pharma companies, followed by post-marketing surveillance. Compliance with good manufacturing practices that encourage ethical clinical trials needs to be monitored. R&D in the pharma sector in our country should be scaled up. Public awareness about generic medicines must be increased.

Vaibhav Goyal, Chandigarh

Random sampling of medicines

Refer to ‘Fleecing patients’; generic medicines at Jan Aushadhi Kendras are far cheaper than branded ones, raising doubts among the people regarding their quality. This stops them from buying generic medicines, especially for ailments like diabetes, hypertension and cardiac problems where quality makes a big difference. The question arises as to how the community at large can be convinced about the quality of generic medicines. Here, the role of government/regulatory bodies comes into play. They should do regular random sampling and testing of these medicines and publish the results in newspapers and on social media, besides holding workshops to create awareness about the quality of medicines. This will allay the fears and doubts of the public.

KK Chawla, by mail

Develop crop-specific boards

Apropos of ‘Punjab in turmoil’; decreased landholdings, increasing input costs and lack of viable agricultural insurance policies make farming an unviable option, especially for small and marginal farmers, forcing them to sell land and send their children to foreign countries. Inadequate food processing facilities add to the woes of Punjab farmers. The state must develop more crop-specific institutions, like agricultural boards for medicinal spices, pulses, etc which should develop a well-researched package of practices for these diversified crops, help farmers grow them at a low cost of cultivation and create marketing avenues.

Harvinder Singh Chugh, Jalandhar

Punjab’s governance crisis

Apropos of ‘Punjab in turmoil’; having lost Delhi to the BJP, the AAP leadership seems to be in an ideological quandary. The Punjab chief minister’s decision to take on farmers and revenue officers could prove counter-productive. It underlines the crisis in governance. Walking out of a meeting with farmers is an indication of a failed dialogue. Strong-arm tactics of the AAP government may dent the image of Bhagwant Mann as a common man’s chief minister.

Raj Bahadur Yadav, Fatehabad

INDIA bloc must unite

Refer to ‘Why the unity of INDIA bloc is faltering’; the Congress must realise that it is not possible to fight the formidable BJP on its own. Owing to its better electoral strategy, planning and well-organised cadre of workers, the BJP is going strong election after election under the leadership of PM Modi. The Modi-Shah magic is outsmarting the INDIA bloc in every aspect and thus recording emphatic wins. Unless INDIA puts up a united front against the BJP, its dream of wresting power seems a distant dream. Alliances demand sacrifice, resolution of ideological differences as well as the abandonment of personal ambitions for a common cause.

Ravi Sharma, Dhariwal