Finally, a pharmacy for free medicines at AIIMS OPD

Pending for nearly two years, AIIMS mission to provide free of cost generic medicines to its patients visiting the OPD may finally see the light of the day when such a pharmacy starts functioning by this month-end.
"The pharmacy was supposed to start on January 1 but it got a bit delayed as we were arranging the place where the store will come up. Patients who are treated in the OPDs will be given free medicines on the basis of prescriptions by doctors of the hospital," Medical Superitendent D K Sharma said.
The store will be run by the central government's HLL Lifecare Limited and will be set up in the place where the earlier private pharmacy was being run and was closed in November 2013 due to irregularities.

Doctors have been instructed to prescribe only generic medicines to the patients and have been directed not to write the brand name of the medicines. A committee has been formed to keep a watch on the quality of the medicines.
The list of drugs was finalised after consultations with heads of all departments last year.
The project was conceptualised nearly five years ago and had got an approval two years back.