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     Methhanithodugu Side Hero Username: Methhanithodugu Post Number: 6064 Registered: 12-2008 Posted From: 59.93.87.219 Rating: N/A |
How many of you are Stocking meds from India ???? As Mr Ratnakar, a finance manager from Florida, packs his luggage after a month's vacation in Hyderabad to fly back, he buys up stocks of medicines for himself and family. http://www.dc-epaper.com/dc/dch/2010/10/24/Photographs/002/2 4_10_2010_002_040_009.jpg In fact, he gets sufficient medicines for a whole year for just `14,000. If he buys the same quantity of medicines from the United States, it would cost him anything upward of `1,00,000. Like Mr Ratnakar, thousands of NRIs and even foreign nationals purchase large stocks of medicines from India every day. Local pharmacists say that NRIs would have to pay as much as six to 10 times for medicines of daily use in the west, and two to four times on life-saving drugs. Not only do NRIs purchase medicines when they take trips home, they also ask relatives to bring medicines when they come visiting. High prices of medicines abroad are forcing NRIs to shop for these drugs in India, where they are available for a fraction of their US prices. âTablets and capsules taken daily for diabetes and heart diseases are usually in high demand,â said the senior pharmacist, Mr P. Venkatesh, who runs a leading chain of drug stores in the city. âNRIs also purchase precautionary drugs for fever and pain.â Mr Ratnakar said that since medical insurance policies in the US do not cover the cost of medication postor pre-hospitalisation, many people prefer to outsource medicines from India. âWhenever I come here I carry lots of medicines for me and my family,â he says. âI even share some with my friends in the US.â As per rough estimates, at least `50 lakh worth of medicines are carried back by NRIs from the city every month. US Customs estimates that 10 million US citizens bring in medicines from other countries every year. This is besides two million packages of medicines imported from countries such as India. âMedicines literally cost a fortune in the USA,â said the breast cancer specialist, Dr P. Raghuram. âIt is not a surprise to see most Indians living in the US buying medicines from the home country.â For instance, Anastrazole which is used to treat breast cancer in post menopausal women, costs `300 per tablet in the US compared to just `50 in India. The price difference is six times. Another drug Herceptin, also used for breast cancer patients, costs `2 lakh per injection in the US while it is available at half the price in India. Likewise, a monthâs supply of Stieva-A (Renova) costs about `3,500 in the US as against `250 in India. The Indian version of cancer medicine Nexavar costs `28,000 a month as against its price of `2.80 lakh in the US. Skin ointments too are expensive. For instance clobetasol used for inflammation and itching of the scalp is priced at `800 in the US whereas it costs below `100 in India. âAn anti-ulcer tablet in India costs just `2 whereas it costs `40 in the US,â said the senior gastroenterologist, Dr Nageshwar Reddy Likewise, medical tourism is booming in India because even the cost of surgeries is far less here. For instance, heart bypass surgery costs `23 lakh in the US but will only cost between `1 and `2.5 lakh even in high profile corporate hospitals in India. The US rule that prescription medicines should be sold only on prescription by a qualified medical practitioner also forces NRIs to outsource medicines from India. âBefore going to a pharmacist, a patient in the US needs to approach a doctor, pay him his fee, which is usually quite high,â said a city pharmacist, Mr M.N. Venkat. Supporting Mr Venkat's argument, Dr S. Vijay Mohan, senior consultant physician of Care Hospital, points out, âHere one can purchase most of the drugs without prescription.â Though the demand for Indian medicines is high, the US does not recognise Indian drugs as being of high quality. The Centre for Disease Control, a US government body, cautions in its advisory that drugs purchased overseas may not be manufactured according to the US standards and may be dangerous. |
