Offer An Article

Pandemic Latest News

access to healthcare

Pharma fears over Jan Aushadhi

The Centre’s flagship access to medicines scheme may be a boon for patients. However, it is also stoking fears among Indian pharma. Forecasts estimate that drugmakers could see twenty percent of their sales disrupted by the Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Jan Aushadhi Pari Yojana Kendra (PMBJPK), a health ministry campaign to make medicines more affordable for …

Pharma fears over Jan Aushadhi Read More »

Unpaid dues could cost patients dialysis

Two Uttarakhand clinics providing free treatment for kidney disease face the loss of their dialysis machines – leaving patients in the lurch. NephroPlus, a kidney care chain, has said it will cancel dialysis services for two clinics in the state effective from March 23rd. This is unless past due payments totalling Rs 6.5 crore (US$947,152) …

Unpaid dues could cost patients dialysis Read More »

Health For Polls: How democracy leads to better health

When you go to vote this time, do consider health as one of the biggest benefits of democracy. When thinking about democracy and its advantages, positive effects on health are often not the first thing that comes to mind. Yet new research published in The Lancet suggests democracy plays a bigger role in better health …

Health For Polls: How democracy leads to better health Read More »

Ayushman Bharat: Will it help to make India healthy?

One of the most significant achievements of the Narendra Modi’s government has been the mega healthcare reform ushered in with the launch of flagship healthcare scheme, Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya Yojana – better known as Ayushman Bharat, or ‘Modicare’. The ambitious scheme – often touted as the world’s biggest healthcare scheme – aims to provide …

Ayushman Bharat: Will it help to make India healthy? Read More »

Jan Aushadhi Diwas: What the Prime Minister said

Jan Aushadhi Diwas celebrations heralded the Centre’s scheme to expand access to medicines – and included a high-profile speech from Prime Minister Modi, in which he extolled the benefits of the initiative. Beneficiaries of the Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP) include both the poor and middle-class, the Prime Minister claimed during a video conference …

Jan Aushadhi Diwas: What the Prime Minister said Read More »

Jan Aushadhi Diwas: Centre expands plans for access to medicines

The Centre will add 2,500 Jan Aushadhi stores to its existing stock by 2020 – with the eventual aim of one store for every block. Jan Aushadhi stores are special kendras (centres) opened under the Centre’s Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Jan Aushadhi Pari Yojana Kendra (PMBJPK) initiative, which seeks to expand access to medicines. These  centres …

Jan Aushadhi Diwas: Centre expands plans for access to medicines Read More »

Generic medicines: Centre pushes for cheaper drugs

In a bid to make generic medicines more eye-catching, the Central government is planning to introduce an innovative marketing strategy to increase their brand awareness among consumers. New Union Health Ministry plans would colour-code generic medicines to distinguish them from their more costly brand-name counterparts. This is in a bid to encourage consumers to make …

Generic medicines: Centre pushes for cheaper drugs Read More »

What the HPV vaccine could do for India – and why it hasn’t been done already

A disease which kills almost 300,000 women a year – including 67,500 women in India – could be all but eliminated by the end of the century if efforts are made to increase access to a lifesaving vaccine according to recent research published in The Lancet. The disease is cervical cancer. The vaccine is against …

What the HPV vaccine could do for India – and why it hasn’t been done already Read More »

Strikes beset Indian hospitals

Doctors’ strikes in multiple Indian states are hitting public and private hospitals alike.  A strike by private doctors in Uttarakhand is forcing many patients to turn to government hospitals for treatment. The week-long strike has resulted in public health facilities becoming overburdened by a sudden spike in demand. The issue has come to the attention …

Strikes beset Indian hospitals Read More »

Economists’ fear over Modicare

The Centre’s flagship healthcare scheme – Ayushman Bharat – has faced funding concerns ever since it was announced. A meeting between economists and government officials has done little to allay those fears. Ayushman Bharat – or, to give it its full title, Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) – includes provisions to cover the 100 …

Economists’ fear over Modicare Read More »