Following norms on addiction drugs: Officers

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 17

The purchase and dispensing of buprenorphine and naloxone has been made in accordance with the SOP (standard operating procedure), civil surgeons have apprised Health Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu during a state-level review meeting of the Health Department.

Presiding over the meeting, Sidhu directed the civil surgeons to take stern action, if any private de-addiction centre had overcharged from the patients. He also said the Congress government was committed to provide quality treatment to patients suffering from addiction and with the concrete efforts of the Health Department higher number of patients were coming to OOAT clinics and de-addiction centres across the state. He also asked the civil surgeons to pay special attention on dropout patients.

Sidhu said any doctor found prescribing such medicines that were available through in-house pharmacy from outside or referring patients eligible under Sarbat Sehat Bima Yojana to private hospitals would face action. He said patients visiting government hospitals for any planned or non-emergency treatment were to be referred to higher government institutions where such services were available. He said that if the treatment was not available in government hospital, the beneficiary was to be referred to any empanelled private hospital.