Mumbai civic body fast-tracks zero-prescription policy

Representation Pic

After a five-month delay in implementation, the BMC announced on Saturday its intention to roll out its R500-crore zero-prescription policy for patients in the coming months. In a meeting held on Friday, Additional Municipal Commissioner (Health) Abhijit Bangar directed the civic body's Central Purchasing Department to expedite the tender process for the scheme.

"The Central Purchasing Department, along with BYL Nair Hospital, is currently conducting the verification process for various medicines and medical supplies as part of this ongoing tender process," officials stated.

The Corporation had announced the policy in 2023 to provide free essential medicines to patients at civic hospitals, eliminating the problem of out-of-pocket expenditures. Patients often incur additional expenses when doctors prescribe medicines that are unavailable at civic hospitals, which only stock medicines that are included on a scheduled list of supplies.

As its name suggests, the policy was intended to provide prescription-free healthcare to patients by expanding the scheduled list from 2,000 to approximately 4,000 items. Late last month, mid-day had flagged the delay in implementation of the policy, which was the flagship announcement in the BMC budget but had remained stagnant since March.

Now, a three-week deadline has been set for this process. "The Central Purchasing Department and hospital administrations have been instructed to provide the necessary manpower and computers to expedite the verification process related to the medicine procurement tenders. The process should be completed by September 6, with daily progress reviews," officials added.