Following his focus on food-safety issues in Maharashtra, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Tukaram Munde has brought up yet another matter pertaining to the pricing of medical consumables used in hospitals.
From Food Safety to Medical Pricing
In one of his posts on X, FDA Commissioner Munde has brought up the issue of pricing of medical consumable items used by patients at hospitals. In a survey conducted in Maharashtra to check the prices of such items, a difference was found between the trade price and the printed MRP of such items.
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Major differences between trade price and MRP
The data shared by Munde highlight the magnitude of the difference between these prices. An IV infusion set that costs ₹11.05 was priced at an MRP of ₹325, whereas a syringe, which costs ₹6.75 in trade price, was priced at an MRP of ₹57.20. The trade price of the catheter was ₹29.41, but its MRP was ₹310.
Relevance of this issue for patients
As opposed to common goods, the purchases of medical consumables take place during the course of treatment, when patients along with their relatives cannot compare prices and alternatives. Therefore, it is difficult for patients to assess if the sum paid corresponds to the cost of the good itself or to a markup. Moreover, the problem concerns the method of MRP calculation prior to the arrival of products in hospitals. Manufacturers or distributors might influence this process, but patients bear the burden of the costs of consumption during the treatment.
A regulatory gap under discussion
The pricing issue also highlights a difference between medicines and medical consumables. Scheduled medicines are subject to price controls under the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 2013, while many medical devices and consumables do not face the same level of price regulation. The Maharashtra FDA has therefore brought the issue to the attention of the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), seeking greater scrutiny of pricing practices involving hospital consumables.
