Presenting some key facts and statements with respect to the curriculum of diploma in pharmacy courses, the Federation of Indian Pharmacists Organisations (FIPO) sent a letter to the Union health minister, Dr Harsh Vardhan, requesting him to consider the qualified pharmacists in place of doctors for rural health services.

The Federation says that for the rural health care programme, government should either appoint qualified MBBS doctors or registered pharmacists, otherwise the entire rural health programme will come under the influence of quacks.

FIPO justifies its demand by arguing that the only alternative source for clinical service is the registered pharmacists who are qualified in modern allopathic medicines and registered to dispense the drugs. The pharmacy graduates and diploma holders are experienced in dispensing medicines to common diseases and attained knowledge after completing compulsory internships in hospitals.

The medical subjects studied by pharmacists such as anatomy & physiology, biochemistry & clinical pathology, pharmacology & toxicology, clinical pharmacy, health education besides other pharmaceutical subjects like pharmaceutics, pharmaceutical chemistry, pharmacognosy, hospital pharmacy, pharmaceutical jurisprudence, drug store & business management..etc give them enough exposure to understand the disease process and therapy. These subjects are studied in the first and second years of the D Pharm course.

According to FIPO, the difference between the diploma course in pharmacy and the M.B.B.S course is that D Pharm does not cover surgery and obstetrics subjects of M.B.B.S, rather it specialises in medicine and that is all the more necessary for primary care for which pharmacist is fully qualified and trained.

FIPO further argues that the primary care service is mostly medical aid only, and surgical cases are invariably referred to secondary care hospitals. As far as obstetrics is concerned, labour room and delivery is always taken care of by nurses and MBBS doctors seldom attend such cases. The compulsory internship of 500 hours in three months is fully devoted to patient care, dispensing, storage and preservation of medicines and intimate interaction with doctors and patients, which trains the interns for independent practice as a skilled pharmacist.

There are over five lakhs unemployed registered diploma holders in pharmacy (D Pharm) across the country, both in rural as well as in urban areas, who can at once meet the requirements of the entire nation. They will willingly serve the rural population. In many state health services, pharmacists are in-charge of health centres in the absence of doctors, and they independently take care of treatment of the rural population, says the letter of FIPO.

Copy of the letter has been sent to the prime minister’s office also.