With a view to simplify and modernise the pharmacy educational and professional system in the state, Gujarat State Pharmacy Council (GSPC), a statutory body constituted by the Government of Gujarat under the Pharmacy Act of 1948, has initiated steps to make all its application through online process. The aim behind adopting this e-governance programme is to ensure quick and efficient services to the pharmacy students and professionals interested in making a career out of this profession.

GSPC started working on developing this software almost eight months back and is soon expected to launch it on a pilot basis across the state. According to Pradip Trivedi, president, GSPC the online system will be in place in two months time so that it can be put into use for the benefit the students at the earliest. It can also be used to fulfil all the expectations of the practising pharmacists of Gujarat as well as it will provide information on all the practising pharmacists of Gujarat.

Gujarat is the first state in the country to adopt this progressive approach in its state pharmacy council which will enable new applicants to register GSPC online without travelling all the way to the head quarters saving their time and energy. As of now students from across the state have to come to the state pharmacy council headquarters in Ahmedabad at least two to three times. However with applications filing going online student will only have to come just once for the final verification.

The current application filing process is a time consuming one with lot of paper work and travelling on the part of the applicant. However with this up gradation the registration process is expected to become more organised and systematic with well protected database for future reference. Trivedi states, “Pharmacy is an ever-developing profession that offers excellent career prospects, thus for any pharmacy graduates interested in pursing a career in this field as a pharmacists it is mandatory for them to register under the GSPC for getting a suitable job. Through this initiate we hope that it will be much earlier and approachable for the pharmacy graduates to register with us. The council is putting its best possible effort to make the registration process speedy and painless for the applicants.”

GSPC has been upgrading and updating itself to become more access friendly to the pharmacy professionals so as to improve the quality of their delivery system. On this lines, the Council also launched a website recently to provide information to all the practising pharmacists of Gujarat and will work in unison with the website of Gujarat FDCA. GSPC will be making all the necessary information readily available through this website to the pharmacists of the state, in order to make the use of drugs safe and effective.

The website will also provide data on the complete list of registered pharmacists as well as their professional addresses along with list of pharmacy colleges, their addresses and the current status of recognition by PCI. Over the time, the council plans to provide up-to-date information about the licensed drugs, prescription drugs, OTC drugs, schedule-X drugs and the medical devices. The council also plans to provide latest information about the adverse drug reactions of drugs, especially the newly introduced drugs on this website.