Early last month, Pharmabiz reported about a campaign launched by Andhra Pradesh Pharmacy Council against registered pharmacists who hire out their certificates to others for running medical stores. The Council detected 1200 such cases in the state and issued show cause notices to all of them. The plan is to cancel the registrations of those pharmacists who have hired out their certificates after proper verification. The Pharmacy Act 1949 has provisions for action against hiring out certificates by pharmacists. As per the latest records, there are more than 65000 registered pharmacists in Andhra and the hiring out cases could be much more than what has been initially detected. The practice of hiring out certificates by pharmacists for running medical stores is widely prevalent throughout the country and not many state pharmacy councils have taken action against such members. Only registered pharmacists are authorized to dispense drugs in chemists shops as per the Act and the Council is expected to ensure the presence of pharmacists in the medical shops and to educate them on various aspects. In a related action last March, the Bombay High Court restrained around 2,000 persons appointed by Maharashtra government in 1984 to work in hospitals, primary health centres, state run hospitals and dispensaries, from handling medicines as they are not qualified pharmacists. These persons were appointed in 1984 when there was an acute shortage of pharmacists in PHCs and state government run dispensaries. And some time in 2003, Maharashtra State Pharmacy Council issued notices to these persons stating that they are not registered with the Council and therefore, they are not liable to practice as per section 42 of the Pharmacy Act. The Section 42 of the Pharmacy Act came into effect on September 1, 1984. And the Bombay HC rightly observed that it is dangerous to allow them to handle medicines when they are not qualified.
 
Actions by the Andhra Pharmacy Councils and Bombay HC point to the fact that registered pharmacists are usually absent at retail counters in the country. India has nearly 6 lakh retail chemists spread across the country but most of them are not airconditioned with no proper storage norms and run by individual traders. And medicines are dispensed mostly by unqualified salesmen at these shops without the basic qualification. The state pharmacy councils and local drug administrations have failed to check the practice despite having the powers to take action against under the existing laws. What one can see in most of the retail chemists is the display of a framed certificate of a registered pharmacist and three to four salesmen. Owners of chemists shops have their own justification for this state of affairs. Another frequently committed offence in the medical stores is the dispensing of Schedule H drugs without prescription. Hardly anyone in a chemist shop insist on prescription for dispensing medicines. Such a practice can cause serious health hazard to patients as these drugs are taken without any medical supervision. Antibiotics are the main group of drugs, which are widely dispensed without a prescription. These unethical practices have to be seriously addressed by the state pharmacy councils and drug authorities in consultation with trade bodies. A country with a developed pharmaceutical industry cannot have a primitive system of drug delivery system.