Health ministry probes AIIMS Bhopal over irregularities in medicine purchases
A team of officials from the Union Health Ministry visited AIIMS Bhopal to examine documents related to medicine procurement, following allegations by Bhopal MP Alok Sharma that the institute purchased medicines at inflated prices.Earlier, the matter was raised before the AIIMS Standing Committee on Finance during a meeting in Delhi. The central team arrived at AIIMS Bhopal on Thursday morning and examined documents related to the purchase of medicines. The team also met the Director of the institute and enquired about the purchase process. advertisement
The institute has been accused of purchasing medicines directly without following the rules of the central government. In his complaint, Bhopal MP Alok Sharma mentioned that the prices of medicines purchased by AIIMS Bhopal are much more expensive than the AIIMS of other states. Sharma, who is also a member of the AIIMS standing committee, said that he had received a complaint that the injection of Gemcitabine was purchased by Bhopal AIIMS at Rs 2100 per piece, whereas it was purchased at Rs 425 by Raipur AIIMS of Chhattisgarh. Its price in Delhi AIIMS is Rs 285 per piece. The prices of other medicines were also found to be higher. "On May 15, a meeting of the AIIMS standing committee was held in New Delhi in the presence of Union health secretary Punya Salila Shrivastava. In the meeting, I complained regarding the high prices of medicines being purchased by AIIMS Bhopal. She assured me that an investigation will be conducted," said Sharma. advertisementHe also said that like other government hospitals, medicines are bought through tender in AIIMS. However, during the Covid-19 period, direct purchase of medicines was approved. "However, despite the end of the Covid-19 period, direct purchase of medicines continued and the figure of purchased medicines reached crores," he added. Must Watch
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
A shot of hope
New HIV medicine is powerful – but can everyone afford it? A new medicine called lenacapavir has just been approved in the US to help stop people from getting HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. That's big news! Even though fewer people are getting HIV today than in the 1990s, around 13 lakh (1.3 million) people still get infected every year around the world. Lenacapavir is special because you only need two shots a year – not a pill every day like older medicines. That's great for people who forget daily pills or feel embarrassed taking them. And it's almost 100% effective at stopping HIV in adults and teens. But there's a big problem: the cost. In the US, it sells for over ₹23 lakh a year! Even rich countries find that hard to afford. The company that makes it, Gilead, is working with more than 100 poorer countries to help them make cheaper versions. Still, many African countries where HIV is most common may struggle to get it to the people who need it most. Scientists have been trying to create a proper HIV vaccine for decades, but HIV keeps mutating – changing too fast for one shot to work. New mRNA vaccines (like the ones used for Covid) are being tested, but funding cuts in the US have slowed down this research. That's why lenacapavir gives us hope. But hope only works if everyone, everywhere, can afford it. Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email Disclaimer Views expressed above are the author's own.
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
Dose of hope
Times of India's Edit Page team comprises senior journalists with wide-ranging interests who debate and opine on the news and issues of the day. To really help, new HIV vax has to be made cheap A pill to treat multidrug-resistant HIV, lenacapavir, has been approved by US drug regulator FDA as a preventive vaccine. This is a huge deal – incidence of HIV may have declined since 1990s but even today about 13L people globally are infected by the virus every year. But its price is an obstacle. Sold for $28,218 per year in US, it's prohibitive even for high-income nations. Pharma company Gilead that manufactures lenacapavir has reportedly tied up with over 100 middle- and low-income countries for manufacture of generics pending approvals. But access likely will still be tricky for poorer African countries that bear the HIV burden. Drugs to prevent HIV transmission have been around almost a decade, but a daily dosage regimen makes these unreliable. People forget and there's the stigma/doubt in partners that a daily dose is preventive. Lenacapavir needs to be taken just twice a year. Its long-lasting effect in preventing infection – almost 100% in adults and adolescents – is thus the best bet today. Also because HIV research in US bears the additional burden of Trump administration's slashed funds. An effective vaccine for HIV has been elusive for decades because of its rapid mutations. Several mRNA vaccines, like those developed for Covid and considered the most promising, are in clinical trials. But since Jan, under Trump's health secretary Bob Kennedy Jr, NIH stopped funding hundreds of such HIV vaccine-related research. This is what makes repurposed lenacapavir a lifeline, provided it's made affordable. Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email This piece appeared as an editorial opinion in the print edition of The Times of India.
India Today
4 hours ago
- India Today
Health ministry probes AIIMS Bhopal over irregularities in medicine purchases
A team of officials from the Union Health Ministry visited AIIMS Bhopal to examine documents related to medicine procurement, following allegations by Bhopal MP Alok Sharma that the institute purchased medicines at inflated the matter was raised before the AIIMS Standing Committee on Finance during a meeting in Delhi. The central team arrived at AIIMS Bhopal on Thursday morning and examined documents related to the purchase of medicines. The team also met the Director of the institute and enquired about the purchase process. advertisement The institute has been accused of purchasing medicines directly without following the rules of the central government. In his complaint, Bhopal MP Alok Sharma mentioned that the prices of medicines purchased by AIIMS Bhopal are much more expensive than the AIIMS of other states. Sharma, who is also a member of the AIIMS standing committee, said that he had received a complaint that the injection of Gemcitabine was purchased by Bhopal AIIMS at Rs 2100 per piece, whereas it was purchased at Rs 425 by Raipur AIIMS of Chhattisgarh. Its price in Delhi AIIMS is Rs 285 per piece. The prices of other medicines were also found to be higher. "On May 15, a meeting of the AIIMS standing committee was held in New Delhi in the presence of Union health secretary Punya Salila Shrivastava. In the meeting, I complained regarding the high prices of medicines being purchased by AIIMS Bhopal. She assured me that an investigation will be conducted," said Sharma. advertisementHe also said that like other government hospitals, medicines are bought through tender in AIIMS. However, during the Covid-19 period, direct purchase of medicines was approved. "However, despite the end of the Covid-19 period, direct purchase of medicines continued and the figure of purchased medicines reached crores," he added. Must Watch
