A survey conducted by eMediNexus revealed that the drugs prescribed by nearly 80% of Indian doctors are from the recently banned list of 344 drugs.

Image : (L) – Shutterstock, (M) – Netmeds, (R) – Crocin

The survey which was conducted to gauge the sentiment of 4,892 doctors, also concluded that up to 40 per cent of doctors disagreed with the government’s justification for the ban. The survey further revealed that a quarter of doctors felt their reputation would be negatively impacted. Over 75 per cent of surveyed doctors also opined that at least one of the drugs should not have been banned, and a third felt there should be exceptions to drug bans, like in the United States. Codeine and Nimesulide combinations were the main exceptions to the ban that doctors felt should have been made.

The healthcare firm conducted the survey on March 15 and March 16 to understand the impact of the ban on the medical community. Four of ten respondents labelled the ban “unnecessary”. The All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists wrote to the Drug Controller General of India asking them to reconsider the ban. The Centre has banned those drugs that contain more than two formulas or ingredients. “Why do we need to give a drug for fever when the patient just has a cold. These combinations were only developing resistance,” said a senior doctor from a medical college. Around 60% doctors in the survey supported the government’s ban, reports The Hindustan Times.

According to a report by Biotechin.Asia, while the government is involved in setting up capacity for healthcare, medical education, and operations, it is also a key regulator of the sector. This is against a backdrop of a nation with a significantly larger disease burden than most globally, and hence is a major responsibility. Doctors and pharmaceutical manufacturers are the main stakeholders directly impacted by any drug bans, but doctors themselves are responsible for the dispensing of medicines to the population.

“As a healthcare advocacy platform, we felt that it was important to conduct this survey to understand the sentiments of doctors who are directly affected by the ban. The results were split with 60% supporting the ban and 40% finding it an unnecessary move. Given the significant healthcare burden in our country, educating patients and doctors about the safety and efficacy of commonly used medicines is crucial so that they can take informed decisions. Our endeavor is to provide doctors with the last 24 hours in medicine, keeping them informed about the latest clinical developments globally,” said Amit Sharma and Nilesh Aggarwal, co-Founders of eMediNexus .

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