Zero prescription policy in force at JJ amid concerns

Execution a challenge as hosp receives only 1/3rd of its budgetary requirement for meds

- Rupsa Chakraborty

Sir JJ Hospital in south Mumbai - the state's largest government-run hospital—has become the first hospital in the city to implement the ‘zero prescription’ policy, which mandates that all prescribed medicines and surgical items be dispensed solely through the hospital’s in-house pharmacy, eliminating the need for external purchases.

The policy, announced by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) in November 2023, aims to reduce patients’ out-of-pocket expenditure across hospitals and dispensaries run by the civic body. For implementation, hospitals were required to scale up their stock of medicines, antibiotics, and surgical supplies from 1,200 items to over 4,000 items, many of which were previously unavailable or available in limited quantities at government hospitals.

Though the BMC had, in 2024, allocated ₹500 crore towards implementation of the policy, it has not been rolled out in any civic hospital yet. The state government-run JJ Hospital is the first institution to implement the policy.

Dr Ajay Bhandarwar, dean, JJ Hospital, confirmed that the policy was now officially in force at the hospital.