<p>For the last six months, the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) beneficiaries have been returning empty-handed from pharmacies in Indiranagar and Rajajinagar ESI Model Hospitals as medicines are out of stock.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The beneficiaries are now forced to run from pillar to post seeking reimbursement of the money spent on buying medicines from private pharmacies. This procedure normally takes at least five months.<br /><br />Patients who shared their woes with Deccan Herald said that even basic medicines like Insulin were not available in the pharmacies, while a few others complained about the tedious procedures involved.<br /><br />When the pharmacies do not have stock of the medicine prescribed to patients, they advise them to visit smaller dispensaries. If medicines are not available there also, then the patients are advised to purchase them from private chemists for which a reimbursement is provided.<br /><br />The procedure also involves getting a seal from the dispensary when the medicines are purchased from outside and providing a copy of the same with seal from the smaller government dispensary for the ESI documentation. <br /><br />“I have a kidney problem and I am on a long-term medication. Every time I ask for the medicines prescribed, they are unavailable,” Puttaraja, an ESIC beneficiary, told Deccan Herald.<br /><br />“And when we purchase the same from private pharmacies, the money is refunded only after four months and the reimbursement involves a lot of running around,” he added.<br />Pramod, a resident of Malleswaram, faced similar problems when the opthalmologist at the main hospital prescribed eye drops for an infection in his eye. <br /><br />“In the first place, it took some time for the pharmacists to realise what the complication was and then arises the problem of getting the medicine. For the last three months, it has been the same story. This particular medicine is out of stock every time,” he added.<br /><br />The ESIC calls for a meeting at least four times a year where the list of drugs that are out of stock and those in demand are listed, based on the patient data. <br /><br />The indent is sent to the Union Health Directorate after which it is sent for government approval.<br /><br />“We usually run out of stock by the end of the indent period. Sometimes, it is also the company’s mistake from whom the orders have to be dispensed,” explained Dr Ananthkumar, Resident Medical Officer, ESIC.<br /><br />Labour Minister P T Parameshwar Naik said it was only once that shortage of medicines in a dispensary was brought to his notice and it was attended to. “If there is any other procedural delay, immediate action will be taken,” he promised.<br /></p>
<p>For the last six months, the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) beneficiaries have been returning empty-handed from pharmacies in Indiranagar and Rajajinagar ESI Model Hospitals as medicines are out of stock.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The beneficiaries are now forced to run from pillar to post seeking reimbursement of the money spent on buying medicines from private pharmacies. This procedure normally takes at least five months.<br /><br />Patients who shared their woes with Deccan Herald said that even basic medicines like Insulin were not available in the pharmacies, while a few others complained about the tedious procedures involved.<br /><br />When the pharmacies do not have stock of the medicine prescribed to patients, they advise them to visit smaller dispensaries. If medicines are not available there also, then the patients are advised to purchase them from private chemists for which a reimbursement is provided.<br /><br />The procedure also involves getting a seal from the dispensary when the medicines are purchased from outside and providing a copy of the same with seal from the smaller government dispensary for the ESI documentation. <br /><br />“I have a kidney problem and I am on a long-term medication. Every time I ask for the medicines prescribed, they are unavailable,” Puttaraja, an ESIC beneficiary, told Deccan Herald.<br /><br />“And when we purchase the same from private pharmacies, the money is refunded only after four months and the reimbursement involves a lot of running around,” he added.<br />Pramod, a resident of Malleswaram, faced similar problems when the opthalmologist at the main hospital prescribed eye drops for an infection in his eye. <br /><br />“In the first place, it took some time for the pharmacists to realise what the complication was and then arises the problem of getting the medicine. For the last three months, it has been the same story. This particular medicine is out of stock every time,” he added.<br /><br />The ESIC calls for a meeting at least four times a year where the list of drugs that are out of stock and those in demand are listed, based on the patient data. <br /><br />The indent is sent to the Union Health Directorate after which it is sent for government approval.<br /><br />“We usually run out of stock by the end of the indent period. Sometimes, it is also the company’s mistake from whom the orders have to be dispensed,” explained Dr Ananthkumar, Resident Medical Officer, ESIC.<br /><br />Labour Minister P T Parameshwar Naik said it was only once that shortage of medicines in a dispensary was brought to his notice and it was attended to. “If there is any other procedural delay, immediate action will be taken,” he promised.<br /></p>
