The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has prohibited hospitals, medical practitioners, and affiliated pharmacies from compelling patients to buy medicines exclusively from in-house or attached pharmacies. In an order issued on June 12, FDA Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe directed doctors and hospitals to hand prescriptions directly to patients or their relatives and barred prescriptions from being routed to hospital pharmacies without patient consent.
The FDA stated that practices such as withholding prescriptions, refusing to provide them, or directing patients to specific pharmacies deprive patients of the freedom to choose where they purchase medicines and may constitute unfair trade practices under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019. Hospitals have also been instructed to prominently display notices in Marathi and English informing patients that they are free to purchase…
