Many patients seek or solicit a second opinion in a medical shop — that of the seller. Any school finalist or school drop-out who can read a doctor’s prescription in English or mysterious scribbling will do. It need not be a qualified pharmacist. Queries range from, “Is this medicine too strong?” “What is this medicine for?” to “Does it have any serious side-effects?” The replies are supposed to be pro bono or free under the guarantee that the prescribed medicines will be bought from the same medical shop. The prescription may have been written out by the most famous cardiologist, neurologist or gastroenterologist, but it is the verdict in the medical shop that is accepted without any doubt. The same person will not ask any questions at a bar counter or liquor shop on whether alcohol is injurious to health, or what the chances are of developing fatty liver, cirrhosis and liver failure. Nor will he ask the person at a shop selling cigarettes whether cigarettes will affect his lungs or cause cancer. In a supermarket, customers ignore the insecticide coating on vegetables and fruits and will never ask a question about safer alternatives.
Generic over brand
This is the reality of over-the-counter sales in India, where a salesperson can decide which brand of generic medicine (pharmacological compound) can be given to a patient. The prescribing doctor has no freedom to mention his favourite brand in which he has invested his faith in terms of quality. On August 3, 2023, the National Medical Council (NMC) directed all doctors to prescribe only generic names and not brand names which led to protests.
