The Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) will be ready with its draft amendments to the Pharmacy Act 1948 in a month's time. The council is planning to circulate the draft among pharmacy professionals and other stakeholders in pharmacy sector by April 15 and submit it to the central government only after incorporating their suggestions.

Disclosing the council's plans to Pharmabiz.com, Dr B Suresh, president, PCI, explained that the decision to get the amendments vetted by the professionals is to ensure speedy clearance of the changes by the government. It should be noted that the Education Reforms 2001 submitted by PCI a couple of years ago was not approved by the Centre due to opposition from various interest groups. "We would like to avoid such hurdles at the government level and hence decided to forward our recommendations after ensuring consensus among all stake holders", he said.

The council has called for a national level meeting of all state pharmacy council presidents and registrars in Delhi this week. All regional level problems are to be discussed during the meeting. According to Dr Suresh, the meeting will also provide an occasion for free flow of information which was lacking from several state pharmacy councils in the recent years. This, he felt, would help improve the functioning of the council.

The PCI comprehensive amendment planned in the Pharmacy Act 1948 by PCI is aimed at effective regulation of pharmacy practice in the country. According to Dr Suresh, there is an urgent need for a proper definition of "pharmacy profession" in the Act.

Though Pharmacy Act 1948 was enacted to regulate the profession of pharmacy, it does not prescribe any code of conduct for pharmacists. "The liabilities of pharmacists are not clear in the Act and there is no action/penalties mentioned", Dr Suresh points out.

The comprehensive revision of the Act can be of much help to the practicing pharmacists. "Today pharmacist is not charging any fee for his services. Pharmacy is a profession and the pharmacist should be in a position to charge his professional fees. In the next couple of years, I would like to see pharmacy profession gaining more recognition, with more people in the community and hospital pharmacy being offered fee for their services," he opines.

The council would approach representative bodies like Indian Pharmaceutical Association (IPA) and Indian Pharmacy Graduates Association (IPGA) for a preliminary review of the proposed amendments before it gets widely circulated among other professionals, Dr Suresh said.