Despite government initiatives like free medical aid and Rajiv Arogya Sree insurance, patients in Telangana hospitals like Gandhi and Osmania face a peculiar situation. They have to purchase medicines from private shops within the hospitals at a higher rate. The Forum for Good Governance wrote to the Chief Minister of Telangana A. Revanth Reddy highlighting this concern.
In their letter, the president of the forum M. Padmanabha Reddy said that while consultations are free, prescribed medicines are often unavailable in government pharmacies, forcing patients, especially those from weaker sections, to buy them from expensive private shops conveniently located within the hospitals.
They point out that the central government’s health scheme provides free prescribed medicines, while Telangana hospitals leave patients scrambling for them at high costs in private shops. The forum has urged the Telangana Chief Minister to remove private medical shops from government hospitals and ensure a consistent supply of essential medicines in government pharmacies, making healthcare truly accessible for all.