118 commonly used drugs will be available at 80-90% less price 

IMA starts Selling Generic Drugs

New Delhi, June 5:  Amid apprehensions about success prospect of much flaunted Jan Aushadhi Scheme, IMA, India’s biggest trade union of allopathic doctors, opened its first shop of cheap generic drugs in its headquarters.

Hansraj Gangaram Ahir, Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilizers, today inaugurated this store, lauding IMA’s proactive step to enforce central government’s impending Jan Aushadhi scheme slated to be launched in August.

Dr. K.K. Aggarwal, General Secretary, IMA who first mooted the idea of Jan Aushadhi stores in IMA premises, gushed saying doctors’ body initiative would revolutionize Delhi’s healthcare scenario.  He said. ‘The store will offer over 118 commonly used drugs in their generic forms at 80-90 % lesser cost than its market value. All the medicines being offered at the IMA will be Jan Aushadhi’

Medical Store in IMA has been approved by the Jan Aushadhi Department of the Govt. of India and quality controlled by the Bureau of Pharma Public Sector Undertakings of India. The store will remain open from 9.30 am to 6.30 pm on all working days of the week. A full-time qualified pharmacist will not only dispense drugs at the store but also counsel the patients about the drug- drug and drug- food interactions and report adverse events.

Indian Medical Association (IMA) has given full assurance of quality of drugs in its Jan Ausadhi store, claiming they would not be a shade inferior to the branded ones. The doctor body has announced its branches all over the country would also open such stores. IMA also appealed to over 2 and half lakh of its members not to sabotage central government’s ambitious scheme as is widely feared.

Inaugurating the centre, Ahir said, ‘Out of pocket treatment costs are pushing millions of people below poverty line in India. The central government is going to unveil Jan Aushadhi Scheme to alter this scenario. Due to exorbitant cost of branded drugs, people are falling in debt trap.’

Dr SS Aggarwal, President-Elect, IMA said, “With the existence of a large gap in the socio-economic set up of our country and the ever-increasing disease prevalence due to lifestyle factors; affordable health care for all is an urgent need and necessity. The Indian Medical Association believes that cheaper quality branded drugs must be provided to the masses to help reduce the healthcare budget burden every family has to face in today’s day and age. The IMA Jan Aushadhi Medical Store will help in drastically bringing down the monthly amount spent by families on essential life-saving drugs such as painkillers, fever medicines, diabetes controlling medicines amongst others. We hope that through this initiative we can really help make a difference to the lives of the common people’.

Given below is a list of some of the medicines which will be available at the IMA Jan Aushadhi medical store and their prices as compared to that available in the market: