Hospital medicine bills under scrutiny as TN govt orders inspections
Chennai
Reports of hospitals charging inpatients at or near the maximum retail price (MRP) for medicines and supplies purchased at discounted rates have prompted Tamil Nadu’s Directorate of Drugs Control to order inspections of selected hospitals and their attached pharmacies.
The scrutiny will cover medicines, medical devices and consumables, with inspectors examining procurement costs alongside patient bills to identify suspected overcharging and any breaches of pricing or labelling requirements. A separate communication has directed officers to intensify checks against the unauthorised sale of habit-forming prescription drugs. Reports of misuse of Tapentadol and Nitrazepam were cited as a public health concern requiring stronger surveillance. S. Gurubharathi, Joint Director of Drugs Control and Controlling Authority-cum-Licensing Authority, issued both communications on October 1 to assistant directors, outlining the records to be examined and the reporting requirements. The exercise follows concerns over differences between the prices hospitals pay to procure products and the amounts charged to patients. Inspectors have been asked to document significant price variations, suspected overcharging, discrepancies in records and violations of pricing or labelling provisions.
Any findings must be supported by relevant documents. The inspections are to be completed on priority, with a consolidated report submitted to the directorate. Where pricing contraventions are established, action will be initiated under the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 2013, Gurubharathi said. Action-taken reports, accompanied by supporting documents, must also be forwarded to the directorate for further proceedings. The second communication described reports of prescription drug misuse as a public health concern and directed officers to strengthen surveillance and enforcement within their jurisdictions. Assistant directors have been told to arrange surprise inspections at retail and wholesale outlets, focusing on areas where complaints or information about misuse have been received.
During these checks, officers must verify valid prescriptions, purchase and sale records, bills, stock positions and other relevant documents. They have also been instructed to pay special attention to disposable syringes and needles that could be misused or diverted. Any mismatch between available stock and entries in the records must be investigated, with officers required to verify inventories and establish the nature of discrepancies found during inspections. For hospitals, checks will include purchase invoices, procurement prices, printed MRP, sale prices and billing, particularly for high-value medicines and injections. Significant findings must be documented and supported by records before reports are submitted to the directorate.
