Extended prescription for chronic diseases helped India cope better during Covid, say health experts

New Delhi: Extended prescriptions for chronic diseases like hypertension helped India cope better with the chaos during the Covid pandemic, according to government officials and public health experts. At an event organized by the Family Planning Association of India (FPAI) to release a policy brief and recommendations from Banaras Hindu University, health experts called for the need to focus on such solutions to improve last-mile delivery of health services.

To safeguard those living with noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) soon after Covid struck in early 2020, the Health Ministry sent a note to all states advising that patients diagnosed with hypertension, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and mental health will receive a regular supply of medicines for up to three months through ASHAs or health sub-centers on prescription.

Dr Sudarshan Mandal, Deputy director-general (NPCDCS), Directorate General of Health Services in the Health Ministry said it was a timely measure that saved many lives.

”It continues to be relevant and can be an important strategy to ensure more people can keep their blood pressure under control,” he said.

”While all NCDs require a continuum of care and treatment, it is critically important to focus on hypertension and diabetes, also called the silent epidemics of India. For the 22 crore hypertension patients, over 8 crore diabetics and other NCD patients, this can revolutionize healthcare delivery,” Mandal said.

Department of Community Medicine, Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University along with GRID Council under Project REACH-HTN, conducted an analysis across four states to gauge the success of making blood pressure medicine refills available for extended days as per the government guidance.

Dr. Sangeeta Kansal, Professor at the Department of Community Medicine, BHU, and principal investigator of the project said, ”The government order has been overall beneficial for those relying on public health systems for their treatment, particularly those in rural India.” BHU’s analysis showed that by December 2020 most states had provided hypertension medicines with relative success.

The study also noted that at least 40 percent of districts under the India Hypertension Control Initiative benefitted from a robust rollout of the order for extended days drug supply. Dr. Kalpana Apte, Secretary-General, FPAI said that despite blood pressure medicines being safe, affordable, and easily available, the control rates are dismal worldwide.

”In India as well, a large proportion of people diagnosed as hypertensive do not have their blood pressure under control. This makes them extremely vulnerable to cardiac events and death.

”The guidance for extended days prescription, issued just when India was entering a hard lockdown nationwide, has immense potential of fixing the woes of last-mile service delivery,” Apte added.