The need for pruning Schedule H of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act and increasing the number of medicines that could be dispensed by the pharmacists without doctors' prescription is the need of the hour, feels Dr P C Dandia, emeritus professor, Medical College, Jaipur. Delivering the keynote address at the inaugural function of the state level National Pharmacy Week celebrations here on Sunday, Dr Dandia, said that an expanded OTC list is one of the major requirements for enabling the pharmacists to improve the accessibility of medicines to the common man in the country.

He said that the Rajasthan Society for Promotion of Rational Use of Drugs (RSPRUD), represented by him was in the process of preparing an OTC list to be submitted to the authorities for official endorsement. Pointing out that 70 per cent of the patient population in the country is still lacking proper access to essential medicines, he said that the pharmacist community is the only force that can bring about a change in this situation.

The entire programme has been based on the spirit of the 'Jaipur declaration for essential medicines' jointly made by the Delhi Society for Promotion of Rational Use of Drugs (DSPRUD), the Rajasthan Society for Promotion of Rational Use of Drugs (RSPRUD), the WHO-India Essential Drugs Programme, the Delhi Pharmaceutical Trust (DPT), SEARPharm Forum and the All India Organization of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD) few months back. The Jaipur Declaration is yet to be announced officially, and once it is done, a national movement to "improve access to medicines through pharmacists" will be launched, he said.

The Jaipur declaration has emphasized the need for improving access to medicines and their safe and effective utilization by the vast population of the country and felt that the existing community pharmacists can be important instruments in bringing about this change.

It had noted that 'in order to enable such persons to discharge their functions properly, the community pharmacists in India should be provided with theoretical and practical knowledge to initiate or modify drug/non drug therapies by independent action (non-prescription drugs that can be provided by pharmacists without a prescription; non drug therapies, e.g. life style changes, medical devices); and collaborative action (always for medically prescribed drugs).'

Ashwini Kumar, DCGI, Siraj Hussain, Vice Chancellor, Jamia Harmdard University, Dr D P Narayana, managing trustee, Delhi Pharmaceutical Trust, Dr Prem Gupta, former DCGI, Ajay Pal Gupta, AIOCD representative and Rupa Vajpayee, VOICE were among the persons who addressed the inaugural function and the panel discussion, which followed.

Speaking on the occasion, Ashwini Kumar, DCGI felt that the need to have a separate list of OTC drugs was discussed in various forums during the last couple of years and it was felt that there was no urgency to have a separate list as all the medicines that do not come under Schedule H are automatically OTC drugs. He further pointed out that India should not copy western models without considering the practical difficulties involved in materializing the plans and programmes. An India centric model of pharmacy practices is needed, he said.

"In Western countries there is a clear-cut procedure for including a drug in the OTC segment. Here, companies are not that much interested in approaching the department to include their prescription drugs in the OTC segment for the simple reason that virtually every drug is OTC in our country," he said.

The panel felt that there was a need to sensitize all concerned if Schedule H drugs are to be sold only against prescriptions. Unless that happens, expansion of OTC segment will not make much sense, they opined.

The state branch of Indian Pharmaceutical Association and related organizations jointly organized the programme. Dr Roop K Khar, president IPA state branch welcomed the delegates. Dr Adeep Agadi, secretary, IPA proposed a vote of thanks.