A program that encourages physicians to prescribe cheaper drugs has led to a 40% reduction in drug prices and a significant increase in the availability of essential drugs, the World Health Organization (WHO) says (www.dsprud .org /events.htm).
WHO has hailed the “very successful” Delhi Essential Drugs Program as an example for the developing world to pursue. It was established in 1996 to tackle constant shortages and high prices of essential medicine in state hospitals, which are used by about 35% of Delhi residents and 70% of its poor.
Under the program, doctors are advised to prescribe only medicines on an essential drugs list, which includes generic drugs that can be produced and purchased cheaply. The Delhi Society for Promotion of Rational Use of Drugs, which runs the program, buys the drugs for state hospitals in bulk, saving 30%.
Access to drugs has also improved significantly. In 1995, before the program started, about 30% of prescribed drugs were actually being given to patients. A survey in April 2002 shows that 90% to 92% of prescribed medicines are now reaching patients.
Fourteen other Indian states are now implementing the program, and several countries are considering it. — CMAJ