DC forms expert committee to decide and ensuring availability of essential drugs

Ludhiana: In the wake of few hospitals are prescribing Tocilizumab or its alternatives to Covid patients which is limited in stock despite Itolizumab and Dexamethasone were advised by Punjab health advisor Dr. KK Talwar, Deputy Commissioner Varinder Kumar Sharma on Wednesday constituted a committee of experts to decide and ensuring the availability of essential drugs for the patients. 

The committee includes Medical Nodal Officer Covid Ludhiana Dr. Hatinder Kaur Kaler, Dr. Rajesh Mahajan from DMCH Ludhiana, Dr. Rajiv Kundara from SPS Hospital, Dr. Anil Luther from CMC Hospital, Dr. Shelly from FORTIS Hospital, and ZLA Kulwinder Singh and would decide whether the drug is urgently required and from which stockist/hospital/chemist can be provided in case any patients or attendant approaches the administration. 

He said now there is a shortage of other antifungal or essential Covid drugs due to which family members of the patients run pillar to post to get these drugs. He told it has been observed that some big hospitals and stockists/chemists have available stock of essential drugs but these institutions offer these drugs only to patients admitted on their premises.

He told that in these unprecedented crises, the essential drugs should be offered to the patients who need them the most as per medical condition, in whichever hospital they are undergoing treatment. 

Deputy Commissioner said that the committee would decide on merits as per medical requirements which patient requires which essential drug and from where it is to be sourced. 

The prescribing doctor would have to describe the committee with the patient's record to justify the requirement of medicine, whenever summoned by the committee. ZLA would ensure the presence of stock position with all hospitals/stockists/chemists about these drugs. 

He made it clear that all essential Covid drugs available in Ludhiana are a common resource pool available for all Covid patients admitted in various hospitals of the Ludhiana district. Once any essential drug is allocated by the committee to any particular patient then the stocking hospital/stockist/chemist would be responsible under National Disaster Management Act 2005 and Epidemic Diseases Act 1897 to sell that drug to a particular patient. 

He said that violation by any hospital/stockist/chemist would be dealt with strictly under National Disaster Management Act, 2005 and Epidemic Diseases Act 1897.