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A few years ago, a close relative of friend was an Assistant Drug Controller for a particular region of India. As is the case with a huge number of Indian gover
by lake99 12y ago
A few years ago, a close relative of friend was an Assistant Drug Controller for a particular region of India. As is the case with a huge number of Indian government officials, this guy was corrupt to the core. I was quite aware of how his factory "inspection" reports were aided by greased palms. I imagine that a huge portion of drugs here are shit. My family has been safe so far probably because we go to reputed doctors who prescribe good drugs.
In a way it's ironic that things that are not essential to our lives... like computer products, cameras, mobile phones, etc. have so many review and benchmarking sites. We consumers pore over those reports to help us make the next purchase. The best part is that none of these reviews or benchmarks are mandated by government agencies. But when it comes to drugs that can save our lives, we seem lead our lives mostly in ignorance.
- enupten 12y agoI can't say that I'm surprised; the Government of India more or less carries on in a state of dire paralysis.
- nebula 12y agoDo you see any possible way to bridge this gap, and help people identify and avoid substandard drugs? I am planning to work in patient empowerment, would like any ideas in this regard.
- lake99 12y agoWell, since you are inviting me to speculate, I'll do so. 1. Best-case scenario: high-school kids are imparted with some basic knowledge of drugs. I think they'll understand Pharmacology 101 just fine. This will raise the quality of journalism too because (a.) journalists are better educated to seek out such news and (b.) there is a wider demand for news of greater technical depth. I speculate that UL-like companies will spring up to meet consumer demand. 2. In the present world, I'd be happy with a blog/journal that keeps an eye on pharmaceuticals. Drug Watch[1], for example, focus on just big-pharma and lawsuits. They come off a bit like ambulance chasers. FDA has several feeds [2], but the volume of information is rather high. So, a service that sends out targeted emails would be just fine. So, a user would select a bunch of ailments and drugs, and this service would send emails when there is ab update on any of those. That way, users of lipitor would get updates on Ranbaxy's antics too. [1] http://www.drugwatch.com/ http://www.drugwatch.com/ [2] http://www.fda.gov/AboutFDA/ContactFDA/StayInformed/RSSFeeds/default.htm http://www.fda.gov/AboutFDA/ContactFDA/StayInformed/RSSFeeds...
- nebula 12y agoThanks! interesting ideas. High school level introduction to pharmacology is an excellent point. It will bring in a lot of awareness. Thanks for the pointers on FDA feeds. Your contact is not there in profile. Do you mind sharing your contact info?