A new circular issued by Sri Lanka’s Director General of Health Services permits doctors to recommend the purchase of unavailable hospital drugs from outside, with full responsibility falling on the head of the institution. With accountability and consent requirements now in place, the healthcare sector faces a major operational shift.
In a decisive move to address medicine and surgical supply shortages in Sri Lankan government hospitals, Director General of Health Services Dr. Asela Gunawardena has issued a new circular outlining specific guidelines for the external procurement of medicines and medical equipment.
According to the circular, if a particular medicine or surgical item is unavailable in a hospital or its associated Medical Supply Unit (MSU), doctors and specialists will now be permitted to prescribe these from external sources. However, this can only be done under strict conditions, with full accountability resting with the head of the institution and with the explicit consent of the patient or their family members.
The circular emphasizes that the head of the institution must take complete responsibility for each instance where medicines or surgical equipment are recommended for purchase from outside sources. The guideline reinforces that such measures must be carried out in accordance with established medical ethics.
Heads of medical institutions are instructed to maintain an up-to-date, transparent inventory of both available and unavailable medicines and surgical items. This information must be regularly communicated to all doctors and specialists within their institutions.
The circular also requires that once the patient or their family is informed of the situation, external prescription or referral can proceed only upon receiving their documented consent.
In addition to medication, the new policy includes guidelines for diagnostic and medical examinations. If a particular test or diagnostic procedure is not available within the hospital, external arrangements can be made, but again, only with the head of the institution’s approval.
Furthermore, the circular mandates that any donation received from outside sources—whether medicine, equipment, or related items, must be recorded in a special institutional register. All such activity must be reported to the Medical Supply Unit at the end of each month.
This shift in policy is being viewed as both a necessary measure to ensure patient care amidst persistent shortages, and a potential challenge to institutional accountability. The new circular is expected to impact the working protocols of hospitals islandwide, demanding greater responsibility and transparency from administrators and medical professionals alike.
