Aiming to reduce the expenditure incurred by common patients on treatment of cancer and heart diseases, Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda on Friday inaugurated an AMRIT pharmacy at the city-based Safdarjung hospital, saying similar facilities will be across the country.The new AMRIT (Affordable Medicines and Reliable Implants for Treatment) Pharmacy, the 10th such in the country, will sell drugs at highly discounted rates. “More than 195 drugs for treatment of Cancer and 186 drugs for treatment of Cardiovascular Diseases are being sold through AMRIT with a discount of more than 90 per cent are available to patients,” said Nadda. According to the ministry, the outlets have a very comprehensive list of medicines that are available across range of products.
Nadda informed that more than 1.77 lakhs patients have been benefited till date from the AMRIT pharmacies, which has resulted in saving of around Rs 13 crores out of pocket expenditure to the patients which translates into an average discount of 69 per cent on MRP. On the future plans of opening AMRIT pharmacies, Nadda said: “We are planning to open 300 outlets in the country. AMRIT pharmacy reflects our strong commitment to reduce the cost of treatment for the patients.” The project has been floated in a tie-up with government-owned HLL Lifecare Ltd, which is mandated to establish and run the AMRIT chain of pharmacies across the country.