Mumbai: Zero prescription policy in BMC hospitals is delayed

Representation Pic

Five months after its announcement, BMC is still far from implementing its zero prescription policy at the four medical college hospitals under its jurisdiction. This policy was supposed to free patients from the burden of out-of-pocket expenses incurred during treatment at the hospital.

BMC had allocated Rs 500 crore for this policy, which was supposed to be rolled out by April. Officials from the medical college hospitals said that implementation has not yet begun, nor have there been any recent discussions about it.

"Likely, the procurement process is still ongoing by the Central Purchasing Department," said an official from one of the hospitals. Some of the medicines routinely prescribed to patients are unavailable at the hospitals as they are not included on the scheduled list of medicines and supplies. As a result, patients are required to purchase these medicines from private medical shops.

The proposed policy was intended to provide prescription-free healthcare to patients visiting BMC-run facilities by expanding the scheduled list from about 1,200 to 4,000 items. However, BMC had also received criticism for considering limiting it only to residents of Mumbai and not to those who visit the hospital from other parts, effectively creating two separate fee structures.

Dr Sudhakar Shinde, additional municipal commissioner (health), said, "The tenders for 4,000 to 5,000 items have been closed and are now being scrutinised. There are 13 schedules, and it is not possible to implement the whole thing at once, so we will implement it schedule by schedule." He added that the policy is expected to be rolled out in another couple of months.

Rs 500 cr
BMC's allocation for the zero prescription policy