Heart-warming news for the cancer patients, especially for those who come from an economically weaker section of the society- the Punjab government has instructed all its empanelled hospitals to provide the cancer drugs at subsidised rates. If these orders are not followed by the instructed hospitals then a serious action would be taken against them.
Not only this, all of the listed hospitals should display the rates of all the subsidised drugs at the Out Patient Department and also displayed at the drug stores of the empanelled hospitals, Minister for Health and Family Welfare Madan Mohan Mittal said.
He also said that the state government has empanelled hospitals for cancer treatment under ‘Mukhmantri Cancer Rahat Kosh’ and have been asked to purchase the cancer drugs on the rate contract finalised by the department, which is almost half of its original rate. A sigh of relief finally.
“For the patients who are not covered under the Mukhmantri Cancer Rahat Kosh or who have already availed assistance under the scheme and are now getting treatment at their own expenses, these drugs will be made available on subsidised rates at Jan Aushadhi Stores,” he said, in an official release here.
He said that this has been done to ensure availability of cancer treatment to the patients at subsidised rates since these drugs are very expensive and people from financially weaker sections are not able to avail it at the tagged price. But now with the drop in rates, patients will be hugely benefitted.
“The Punjab Government is providing most of the cancer treatment drugs at 70 per cent to 80 per cent lesser than the MRP,” he claimed. The minister said that the list of medicines for cancer treatment was finalised by a committee of experts oncologists from the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh; Guru Gobind Singh Medical College, Faridkot; Government Medical College (GMC), Patiala and Amritsar.
The experts had finalised a list of 140 cancer treatment drugs for which rate contract were floated by the Punjab Health Systems Corporation and the contracts have been finalised for the 81 drugs so far.
Mittal said that for the remaining cancer drugs the Tata Memorial Centre, Mumbai has been requested to take up the matter with the suppliers who are supplying these items to them (TMC Mumbai) and rates for such items are also likely to be finalised shortly. GMC Chandigarh, Patiala and Amritsar; PGIMER Chandigarh, Patel Hospital, Jalandhar and AIIMS New Delhi, are some of the main empanelled hospitals.
