The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA), as part of its drive to prevent the increasing cases of multiple use of pharmacy certificates in retail outlets, planning to develop a computerized network linking all the 38 trade licensing centers within the state. The proposed network will plug the loophole within the decentralized licensing system in the state, which results into this kind of malpractices.
R V Yadav, joint commissioner (HQ), Maharashtra FDA, informed that since the inter-office cross verification of trade license applications are not possible at present, there are chances of issuing multiple licenses on the same certificate at different locations. "This is happening because there are cases of same pharmacists trying to work at multiple shops for additional revenue," he said.
Currently, there are 31 district level trade licensing centers under the FDA in Maharashtra, which are headed by respective Assistant Commissioners and another seven zones with the same level of authority within Mumbai. In order to have an interlinked license issuing system, all these centers are to be linked in a common computer hub. So that , a duplicate entry can be detected by the computer and such applications can be rejected, Yadav said.
Although, as per the rules the chemists shops are expected to display the original certificate of the pharmacist at their premises prominently, there were no serious inspections happening on this front. "Therefore, the drug outlets may have even displayed the photocopies of the certificates," said other sources from the Department.
"The whole exercise by the new move is to ensure that a full time pharmacist is employed at every medical shops and none can secure a second license with the same pharmacy certificate," said the sources.
As part of the comprehensive software package development for the networking, the FDA has sought the details of all degree and diploma holders who have registered with the State Pharmacy Council as well to prevent multiple use of certificates for seeking trade licences.
The FDA, using the details of the certificates including the photographs of the degree/diploma holder given by the Pharmacy Council, will initiate a counter check with the existing list of trade licenses already issued in the state to verify any duplication has taken place.
Yadav added that currently in the state, some cases of same pharmacy diploma/degree certificates used for multiple trade licenses have been detected. The Administration has already initiated penalty actions against these cases. However, as the state government is very serious about full-time pharmacists in the retails outlets, it wanted to ensure that each pharmacy maintains the dedicated pharmacist, on whose certificate the license is granted.
Henceforth, the Administration would also begin the practice of endorsing the certificates with an official seal of the FDA when a trade license is granted on the same, so that the certificates cannot be used for second time along with fresh trade license application unless the previous license is officially cancelled, he said.