A section of pharma and healthcare professionals in Tamil Nadu got together and formed the Tamil Nadu Society for Promotion of Rational Use of Drugs (TNSPRUD), in the lines of the Delhi Society for Promotion of Rational use of drugs. The objective is to promote the message of rational use of drugs and to ensure their safety and efficacy.

TNSPRUD, headquartered in Chennai, will have chapters in different parts of the state, and in the initial year of operation plans to have chapters in the cities of Chennai, Coimbatore, Trichy, Madurai and Chidambaram, Dr. M D Nair, consultant, WHO & pharmaceutical industry, told Pharmabiz.

He said prime objectives of the society would be to conduct a series of workshops and awareness programmes on rational use of drugs among the concerned stakeholders and public, creation of an Adverse Drug Reaction (ADR) registry to be circulated among the professionals and public, inclusion of rational use of drugs as a subject for study in the curriculum for the post graduate medical courses, creation of chapters in different parts of the state and soliciting membership from interested public and professionals etc.

Further, TNSPRUD would strive to prepare and popularize standard prescription and treatment guidelines for physicians on rational usage of drugs, and would initially focus on specific public healthcare departments for implementing the guidelines, elaborated Dr Nair.

He said WHO would assist the society with funds for conducting workshops and specific projects promoting rational use of drugs like developing an infectious diseases registry. The society is also looking at membership of 1000 in the initial year with a lifetime membership offered at a fixed nominal fee, which will act as the seed money to take off TNSPRUD. A campaign will be done among interested medical professionals, pharmacists, Pharma professionals, general public, media etc. to join the initiative, said Nair.

TNSPRUD was officially launched on December 11, at a workshop for promotion of rational use of drugs, organized by the WHO, Delhi Society for Promotion of Rational use of drugs (WHO-DISPRUD) in association with the Spectra clinical research center of the Apollo Hospitals, Chennai.