A crucial study by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has uncovered significant irregularities in drug prescriptions at major government hospitals in the country.
The research, part of the ICMR’s Rational Use of Medicines (ICMR-RUM) task force project, found that 45 percent of prescriptions deviated from standard treatment guidelines, with nearly 10 percent involving “unacceptable deviations”.
The study — which was published in the health research agency’s Indian Journal of Medical Research in February — scrutinised 7,800 prescriptions from outpatient departments of 13 tertiary care hospitals and medical colleges, including the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi and Bhopal, KEM Hospital in Mumbai, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education & Research (PGIMER) in Chandigarh, and Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education & Research (JIPMER) in Puducherry.
by Sumi Sukanya Dutta
14/04/2024