He has asked the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) to examine whether these items should be brought under price control.
Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe has said markups of up to 2,800 per cent on everyday medical consumables used in hospitals “need to be explained properly”.
“What we found is that between the MRP which is printed, which is available in the hospital, and the hospital procurement price, there is a huge gap. The items in question include syringes, IV sets and nebulisers, which Mundhe described as essential to in-patient treatment. He noted that essential medicines are price-regulated, while other products are not. “The DPCO is there, and every year a particular percentage of increase is allowed. That is a standard procedure.
“So that’s why we have not taken any action against either the hospital or, for that matter, the manufacturer and seller.
“If that product can be purchased by a hospital at, say, Rs 11 and the MRP is at Rs 325, they need an explanation for that,” Mundhe told NDTV’s Shiv Aroor in an exclusive interview on Thursday, referring to intravenous (IV) sets. “The percentage difference, 2,800 per cent, is beyond comprehension on the face of it,” he added. And that gap is not explainable, at least to our minds,” he said. Asked who was retaining the difference, whether the manufacturer, the distributor or the hospital, Mundhe said the FDA had not examined that yet. “Who is sharing what is very difficult to determine at my level as of now, but it is not passing on to the consumer, that is for sure,” he said. “Without that, treatment cannot take place,” he said. But non-essential medicines are not regulated by this, and that is where the issue comes in,” he said, arguing that hospital consumables should be treated as essential. “When you are admitted, these things are consumed on a daily basis by the hospitals for treatment purposes,” he said.
