NPPA red light against fraud in sales of oxygen concentrators

- Antenna: Vivek Mehta

- Mandatory to print on the concentrator the percentage of oxygen concentration and the number of liters of continuous flow per minute: to increase the price of all medical devices by only 10% per annum to prevent robbery

People are rallying to save their loved ones in Corona. Its traders are taking advantage. Machines that cannot supply less than five liters of oxygen per minute and less than 50 percent concentration from the surrounding environment are known to be useful to corona patients.

Upon learning of this fact, the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority has allowed the sale of a machine with a concentration of 90 per cent from the surrounding environment and a continuous five-liter oxygen pump that can only employ a corona patient. With this, NPP has put a brake on the sellers saying that other machine will be useful for Corona's patient. Corona patients cannot be wrongly given to customers by labeling it as a machine that can get oxygen at home.

Concentrators that cannot supply oxygen at less than 5 liters per minute and concentration of 90% are not useful for corona patients. Secondly they do not even give the customers information about where to get the parts of this machine. That is why the NPPA has made it mandatory for the buyers to provide information on where the spare parts of the machine can be found in the future and what the replacement arrangements are. Whether the machine is branded or generic he will have to give all these details mandatory. Second, oxygen concentrators are required to print on the machine the details of how many liters of oxygen flow continuously on its machine per minute. He will also have to print on his machine the details of what percentage of concentrated oxygen will help the patient to breathe by pulling it out of the air. At the same time, the Drug Controller General of India V.G. Somani said in a circular dated May 15. At present, oxygen concentrators of 1 to 10 liters per minute flow are available in the market. But many of them are not used for corona patients. Only those used in spas. Yet it is sold as an oxygen concentrator for corona patients. The advisory has been issued with the intention of putting a rock on it.

In the first and second wave of Corona, Rs. Pulse oximeter worth Rs. Oxygen concentrators priced at Rs. 5,000 and Rs. 5,000 to Rs. 20,000. Looted by selling to needy people at a price of up to Rs 1.5 lakh. In an exercise to prevent manufacturers of medical devices from charging exorbitant prices, the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has ruled that the price of medical devices cannot be increased by more than 10 per cent per annum. The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority has issued an office memorandum on May 19 asking for details of its maximum price from manufacturers of pulse oximeters and manufacturers of oxygen concentrators.

Similarly, he has instructed all the manufacturers to submit the details of MRP of oxygen concentrators in the format given by him to the government. These details have been sought from every manufacturer under the provisions of paragraph 12 of the Drug Price Control Order 2017. The NPPA has also instructed strict adherence to the Drug Price Control Order. It has also threatened to take action against those who do not comply with the order under the Drug Price Control Order and the Essential Commodities Act.

The government has set a maximum retail price for all types of oximeters including finger tip pulse oximeter, table top pulse oximeter, hand held pulse oximeter, wrist pulse oximeter, pediatric pulse oximeter for young children, minimum retail price, brand name, certificate for brand Details of the price at which the device is delivered to low-selling units, distributors, wholesalers and hospitals have been sought. Details of the price at which the device is given to the retail customer have also been sought. Similarly all the details including the price of portable oxygen concentrator, secondary oxygen concentrator have been sought.