Resident Doctors GMC Nagpur not to prescribe medicines: Report

Nagpur: The medical administration of GMC Nagpur is believed to have removed the prescription rights of residential doctors. The order presumably comes in response to the allegations that despite the availability of medicine in the hospital, doctors of the medical college hospital were asking patients to buy medicines from outside the hospitals.

Nagpur today reports that it was resident doctors who wrote prescriptions asking patients to buy medicines from outside. It was alleged that senior doctors avoided giving prescriptions for specific company medicines and would ask resident doctors to carry out the job of writing them.However, when the racket of juniors writing prescriptions on the part of the senior doctors surfaced, some of the doctors stopped writing prescriptions for medicines from the outside.

Dr Abhimanyu Nisawade, Medical College Dean, in order to end the controversy, asked Department Heads, Associate Professors, and Assistant Professors, to prescribe medicines from outside, only if the medicines were not available on the premises. The department heads were told not to ask resident doctors to prescribe medicines, reports Nagpur today.

These orders have led to senior doctors shouldering increased responsibility, while it has relieved the burden of the juniors.

In an earlier story by the medical dialogues team, it was reported that a clash had erupted between the resident doctor's body in the state, as well as, the government after the two ophthalmologists at GMC Nagpur were taken in custody for taking a bribe of Rs 3000 from an eye patient. The accused doctors were sent to jail. According to the sleuths, the doctors demanded a bribe of Rs 3,000 from one of their patient whose wife was being treated for eye complications.

Local resident doctors, however, stated that the two accused asked for money from the family to make available an essential injection, Bevacizumab, used in diabetic retinopathy. The injection was believed to have been unavailable in the medical college hospital, as it was not part of the rate contract. The injection comes in bulk and can be used for 10 patients at a time. Costing Rs 20-25k, the injection is beyond the reach of the poor. Therefore the doctors of the department procure it and use it on the patient, who would, otherwise, go without the essential medicine. It is with this end that the charges of Rs 3000 were made from the patient.

Read also: Resident Doctors arrested for alleged Bribe: MARD, Hospital authorities come out in support