India is for holding a “prescription audit” on the usage of drug cocktails, which the drug pricing authority of India feels will help in future decision makings.
The National Pharmaceuticals Pricing Authority (NPPA) in its latest meeting held on January 27 made the decision to go for a nation-wide “prescription audit”. In the 215th meeting, the NPPA noted that most of the retail price applications of new drugs mostly consisted of Fixed Dose Combinations of two or more drugs. The Minutes of the meeting said that the matter was discussed in depth. The members viewed that a ‘prescription audit’ might throw light on the prescription patterns of several drugs and their usage. The members also opined that the NPPA should undertake the audit as it could help in future decision-making.
COMBINATION DRUGS
Fixed Dose Combinations are drugs that combine more than one drug in a single pill. The idea behind the FDC is to ease the compliance for the patients who need to take more than one medicine for a longer treatment period. It is also needed when combination is proved to benefit over single-compound drugs.
Earlier, the NPPA had expressed concerns over combination drugs, noting that over medication was a potential hazard. The earlier meetings also had pointed out that the trend of combined drugs was not desirable in public interest.
Despite in preliminary stages, the drug authorities are for starting the process at the earliest. The discussions are going on and a mega plan would be drawn at the earliest.
DRUG USAGE
The improper use of drug usage is a big issue across the world, especially in developing countries like India. Prescription audit helps to improve the quality of prescriptions. This helps in improving quality of health care. The audit is a quality improvement process, which improves patient care and overall health care system. It also helps in prescribing high quality and high standard drug to the patients.
