All India Organisation of Chemists & Druggists (AIOCD) has decided to go on a nationwide strike on May 30 to protest against the health ministry's proposal to regulate sale of drug through e-portal as well as implementation of online pharmacy.
The decision to this effect was taken by AIOCD following the ministry's lackadaisical approach to resolve the trade body's concern over regulation of sale of medicines through e-platform. It had sent several memorandums to deputy secretary (drug regulation), health ministry, joint secretary and secretary of health ministry, health minister, prime minister seeking rollback of the draft notification on e-platform issued by the ministry on March 16.
The notification had proposed to set up an e-portal wherein all manufacturers, stockists and retailers are required to register themselves and enter data relating to sale of drugs with batch number, quantity and expiry date through both online and by using mobile phones.
However in February 2017 at its executive committee meeting in Ahmedabad, AIOCD decided to observe day-long strike to oppose the government's move to regularise sale of drugs through internet.
The government proposal to set up e-portal to regulate sale of medicines is completely impractical posing danger to the livelihood of 8 lakh chemists in the country. Considering insufficient infrastructure of IT across the country, it will be difficult and embarrassing for most of the stockiest, druggists and chemists to upload the details of the sale on the e-portal within a stipulated period. “In many of the villages of our country, we do not have basic infrastructure such as power, computerization, internet etc. This will cause scarcity of the medicines in the country”, said Jagannath Shinde, president of AIOCD.
Shinde pointing out lacunae in the draft notice said that with reference to notice point no. xiv, which mandate registration number of prescriber (Doctors) registered with MCI/ State Medical Council or Dental Council etc. does not consider other than allopathic doctors. But as practitioners, registered in Homoeopathy, Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha also prescribe allopathic medicines, the question is whether such prescriptions are to be honored or not? This is a serious and tricky issue. If crosspathy prescriptions are rejected by chemists then the availability of life saving medicines in the rural area will be in danger. Besides that such refusal of medicines may create law and order situation in many of the places. In emergency situation medicines are required to be dispensed immediately but the notice proposes, first upload sale purchase and then generate bill /invoice through portal which is not at all practical and may lead harm to patient's life due to abnormal delay in process.
It has been claimed in the public notice that the anti-microbial resistance (AMR) will be reduced due to the e-portal system. He refuted the claim saying that crosspathy practised by non allopathic doctors, distribution of cut-strip (part-doses) of anti-microbial drugs to patients, frequent changes in prescription by patients have led to a rise in AMR cases, he opined.
He added that creation of e-portal to monitor sale of drugs is an illogical exercise as there is adequate regulatory machinery for recording the medicines manufactured in the country and their supply to the stockiest and monitoring sale of medicines to the customers. Stockists/wholesalers/distributors are expected to upload data on government portal in GST regime. Mandating to upload again on proposed portal shall be tedious and duplication of work, hence it is not practical and acceptable. The proposed additional fee tor operational charges of operating e-platform shall be additional burden on retailers and wholesalers.
AIOCD president expressed concern that the e-portal will violate the confidentiality of the traders dealing in medicines and cause heavy loss to them. Shinde also raised objections about the online sale of medicines. Such a move may lead to free and uncontrolled sale of habit-forming, narcotic medicines across the country.