The hike in the prices of surgical items using in surgeries made impossible for patients to even think about the surgery and medical treatment. According to the local medicine market traders the prices of surgical instruments and other items, using in surgeries have raised up to 100 %, due to which the expenses of surgeries also raise by RS. 10 thousands up to RS. 0.1 Million.
The other dilemma for the masses is that lifesaving drugs are not available in the market and a part from that, due to black marketing of drugs citizen are moving towards Indian and Irani medicines, easily available in the medicine stores but the relevant authorities are not taking any action against that illegal business.
So its look like that, affordability of medicines seems to be a low priority for policymakers, as prices of hundreds of essential and lifesaving medicines have risen sharply in recent months, making them unaffordable for people with low and middle incomes, a senior cardiologist and office-bearer of the Pakistan Cardiac Society (PCS) said price increases of over 100 percent have been observed in Pakistan. The situation is becoming increasingly difficult for the people because there is no national health insurance and most healthcare expenses are out-of-pocket. Prof. Dr. Bilal Mohyuddin said that the price of the antispasmodic drotaverine had increased by 218% while many other medications including antibiotics, common cough syrups and other essential drugs had seen similar price hikes of over 100%.
It has also noted that healthcare costs were escalating in Pakistan, especially after the recent deregulation of medicine prices by the outgoing caretaker government. Prof. Mohyuddin criticized multinational pharmaceutical companies in developed countries for justifying price increases by citing investment in research and development (R&D). Unfortunately no such investments were made in Pakistan, where prices of medicines had sharply increased despite a lack of R&D and new solutions.
Infect most of new medicines developed between 2009 and 2018 by the 15 leading biopharmaceutical companies offered little or no clinical benefit over existing treatments.
It is also noted that the pharmaceutical industry’s market structure often allows manufacturers to set prices without competition, leading to arbitrary pricing. Many high-priced drugs are not linked to their clinical value or effectiveness, attracting criticism from both consumers and governments.
In contrast the importance of rational therapeutics in cardiology, which combines lifestyle changes, pharmacological treatments and interventions to improve outcomes. Cost utility assessments can help prioritize spending on the most effective treatments.
For example treatments for cardiovascular diseases (CVD) in Pakistan include costs of around PKR160, 000 for single vessel PCI with drug eluting stents and PKR250, 000 for percutaneous mitral commissurotomy (PTMC) further highlighting the high costs of essential treatments in developing countries.
Apart from the experts opinions there a drug mafia in the county that is busy in looting the poor citizens with the help of commission agents of physicians and specialist doctors those suggesting local made low quality expensive medicines to poverty effected patients. Actually these less affected medicines are spreading more diseases in society but the relevant officials and governments are not taking any action against such inhuman business.
If we look at that scenario as social crime, thus the so called physicians are equally responsible for that collective crime. Therefor if these so called doctor have no feeling for humanity and collecting money from the masses by fraud than it is the responsibility of the law makers and law enforcement agencies to tighten screws against such elements to stop that deadly business that is harming the life of innocent citizens. So the citizens have hoped that the federal and provincial governments will take though actions against those criminals who are playing with the human lives that already looted citizens by the utility bills and mass inflation.
