The much-hyped amendment to Pharmacy Act 1948, proposed by the Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) to upgrade the standards of pharmacy profession and education in the country, may not see the light of the day at least for another two years as the matter is still at a preliminary stage.

Sources in the Union health ministry said, that the proposal for amendment of the Pharmacy Act 1948 is yet to be taken for serious consideration. Though there has been an increasing clamour for the amendment of the Act for more than a couple of years now, the ministry is yet to take a serious look at the proposal. The amendment plan is too premature and it will take at least another two years before it reaches Parliament.

There are several inter-ministerial hurdles to be deliberated before the amendment goes to Parliament for its final seal. The main tussle is going to be between the Union Human Resources Development (HRD) Ministry and the Health Ministry. While the HRD Ministry is in favour retaining the regulatory powers with its arm All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), the Health Ministry is learnt to be pushing for transferring the regulatory powers of pharmacy education from AICTE to PCI which is a statutory body exclusively constituted for the pharmacy education in the country.

The only progress that has taken place so far regarding the amendment was that the secretaries of both the ministries have held some preliminary meetings. Nothing further has happened so far, sources said.

The demand for amendment to the Pharmacy Act reached its crescendo during the last some years as there is a growing feeling among the pharma education experts in the country that the responsibilities and demands of the pharmacists have, over the years, become more complex and demanding. Therefore, there is an urgent need for a comprehensive professional authority of its own to look after their affairs and determining standards in education.

At present the pharmacy education in the country is regulated by both the AICTE and the PCI. This dual regulatory system for pharmacy education has really thrown up several avoidable issues in its wake, especially during the last few years as there has been a paradigm shift in the definition and scope of pharmacy education in the country.

Apart from others, the proposed amendment seeks to end the decades-old dual regulation in the pharma education in the country and to strengthen the arms of PCI to streamline and improve the standards of pharmacy education in the country.

The proposed amendment also talks about a total overhaul of PCI to give it more teeth as a regulator of pharmacy profession in the country. Stressing the need for a proper definition of pharmacy profession, the PCI has drafted a comprehensive definition for 'pharmacy profession' to enhance its acceptance and recognition in the society and also prescribes a code of conduct for pharmacists.

Professional fee for pharmacists' services and making continuing education programmes (CEP) mandatory for renewal are two key features of the proposal. The comprehensive revamp of the Act is expected to make community pharmacists more responsible and accountable. The PCI proposal is to see that the pharmacists are answerable for any wrong dispensation of drugs.