In order to provide drug-related information both to the doctors and other people, the All Kerala Chemists and Druggists Association (AKCDA) under the aegis of All India Organization for Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD) will soon establish a 24-hour drug information centre in its premises at Trichur. The estimated cost of this pilot project is Rs 10 lakh.

The drug information centre of the AKCDA will function 24 hours and will provide information about the drugs to doctors and general public. AKCDA is also planning to install an automated answering machine in the information centre to provide information to the callers in the absence of its staff.

"We will start a drug information centre in our premises initially. AIOCD is planning to open similar centres in other states also. This centre will provide all information about drugs," said A N Mohan, president of AIOCD.

AIOCD is also planning to computerize medical shops run by its members in Trichur. Speaking about computerizing the medical shops, Mohan said that it was a pilot project mooted by AIOCD, where around 10,000 members of the AKCDA in Trichur would be provided with computers and software. The pharmacists can then easily save the documents and share essential information about the drugs. AIOCD will extend these projects to other districts in Kerala also.

"As of now, our members are all scattered and it is difficult to communicate with them properly. Only 30 per cent of the shops have computers now. A good network can be formed by computerizing all the shops. This will help to share all the information pertaining to the drugs and organization activities among the members. Medi-InfoTech is helping us with the software," Mohan said.

He said that through these initiatives, AIOCD plans to take a coordinated approach in serving the community and rectifying the errors in the supply and purchase of medicines.

As Pharmabiz had reported earlier, the plan to computerize all the chemists' shops and to create a strong networking facility amongst them is aimed at sharing relevant information about the drugs and for maintaining the documents.