Ggn pvt hospital pharmacies get notices over faulty medical records

The Food and Drug Administration department of Haryana has served notices to the pharmacy stores of Medanta, Fortis and Artemis hospitals over irregularities in medical records.

The three private hospitals which have been served notices by the drug department are  prominent private hospitals in the city and are frequented by thousands of patients for their treatment. 

Most of the times the patients also utilise the services of the pharmacy departments of these hospitals on pretext of getting medicines at discounted prices.

The drug inspectors on their inspection have found that there were irregularities in form of maintaining records majorly in terms of billing, procurement and patient details. 

The inspectors have observed that the hospitals were not complying with maintaining proper invoices in dispensation of medicines and were not keeping record of the patients to whom the medicines were provided. 

Providing his reaction on the notices being provided, Amandeep Chauhan, Senior Drug Inspector said: “The pharmacies in these hospitals were providing invoices which had incomplete details.  There are certain guidelines which have been prescribed by the drug administration for transparency and welfare of the patients. We found that the pharmacies in the hospitals are not transparent in their transactions.”

Expressing disappointment over the matter, Chauhan further added: “Medicine is of utmost necessity towards the welfare of patients. If you do not maintain proper records of the medicines you are providing, you are keeping the patient in the dark about whether the medicine taken by him is really beneficial or will it cause further harm. There has to be an accountability of the private hospitals towards maintaining transparency and greater welfare of patients.”

As per sources, the hospitals have been provided a time of three weeks for replying to the notices. The notice to the private hospitals follows after the inspection by Food and Drug Administration officers on October 27.

With the city having limited public healthcare facilities, most citizens of Gurugram rely on private healthcare. 

Its not for the first time, however, that the private healthcare system in the city has come under the scrutiny of government agencies.   

During dengue and chikungunya outbreak in the city, a lot of private hospitals in the city were penalised by the authorities for excessive rates for the tests required for the vector-borne diseases.