A study of India’s ‘People’s Medicine Scheme’: Policy recommendations and insights to promote and improve access to generic medicines based on pilot survey in Bengaluru Urban District, India

Shaurya Bajaj, Divya Lakshmi S., N. S. Phalguni Bhat, Anirudh A. Kulkarni

Article ID: 6658
Vol 8, Issue 8, 2024

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Abstract


Access to affordable and quality medicines plays a vital role for achieving Universal Health Coverage and in reducing out-of-pocket expenditures (OOPE) for households especially in developing nations such as India. Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP), a Government of India initiative, aims to make low-cost and quality generic drugs and surgical equipment accessible to all segments of the population through its dedicated store outlets known as Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Kendra (PMBJK). In this study, a pilot survey comprising 20 stores/PMBJKs and 150 citizens was undertaken in the Bengaluru Urban District, India to understand various aspects of the PMBJKs including availability of drugs, stock-outs, accessibility to stores, perception and awareness levels along with challenges faced by store owners and citizens/beneficiaries. Based on the survey results, we capture the availability of drugs for 35 medicines and consumables belonging to 12 therapeutic categories across 20 store outlets. We also provide valuable insights and interdisciplinary recommendations on several facets including adopting technology-based measures for day-to-day functioning of stores, need for in-depth supply chain analysis for ensuring availability of drugs, encouraging prescription of generic medicines, increasing awareness levels in addition to promoting grassroot-level research, surveys and feedback mechanisms. These suggestions are expected to find their utility in policy-making, strengthen the implementation of the PMBJP scheme across Bengaluru and India as well as contribute towards achieving related Sustainable Development Goals.


Keywords


generic drugs; out-of-pocket expenditure (OOPE); Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP); Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Kendra (PMBJK); universal health coverage (UHC)

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References


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DOI: https://doi.org/10.24294/jipd.v8i8.6658

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