THE Indian government may force doctors to only prescribe generic medications, with prime minister Narendra Modi recently slamming medical practitioners for writing prescriptions "in such a way that poor people do not understand the handwriting, and he has to buy that medicine from private stores at high prices".
In response, the Medical Council of India, which regulates the health profession, has reiterated guidelines released last year requiring doctors to prescribe only generics and to write in a "legible and understandable way".
However doctors are apparently persisting in writing scripts for branded drugs, with Modi's statements seen as a hint that a legal framework may be introduced to mandate the change.
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