Aggrieved over for not giving due importance to Pharmacy Act 1948 in the new state health policy drafted by the government of Kerala, the State Pharmacy Council has made a representation to the government demanding consideration of inclusion of the Act with immediate effect.

The representation says that implementation of Pharmacy Act 1948 and rules should be made a mandatory provision in the health policy 2013 because the act enjoys significance in the health sector.

Further it was mentioned in the letter that a computerized medicine registry (CMR) needs to be set up under the joint control of drugs control department and pharmacy council in order to solve drug related issues faced by the state. As supportive to the demands, the Council argues that in Kerala the quality control mechanism is in doldrums and less than one per cent of the batches of medicines used in the state are tested in the government laboratories. There is delay in withdrawing drugs found ‘not of standard quality’ (NSQ) from the market due to inadequate mechanisms. So, new health policy should specify measures required for the withdrawal of NSQs from the market.

Regretted over the negligence shown by the health department towards the memorandums submitted by the Council earlier in this regard, it has demanded a goodwill gesture from the government side this time. B Rajan, president of the Council submitted the letter to the state health secretary in last week. He said the provisions of the act are formulated to safeguard the rights and interests of the patient community. So, the act deserves suitable place in the draft health policy of the state.

He said pharmacy act regulates pharmacy practice, education and profession in the field and it is vested with the right to implement it.

In Kerala, there are over 12000 medical stores  and about 3400 hospital pharmacies dealing in modern medicine. As per latest statistical reports, Kerala has attained the status of number one position in per capita consumption of medicine. About nine to 11 per cent of the domestic medicine market share is consumed by the state. In such a situation the state has to take extra care in ensuring quality control and quality assurance aspects of medicines marketed and used in the state, Rajan opined.

The Council suggests that government should utilize the various facilities available in the state with a view to solve all the crucial problems in the health sector. There is scope for starting approved testing laboratories under PPP scheme as there are more than a dozen pharmacy colleges affiliated to the state health university with PG laboratories and other facilities. As an example, the Council quotes the current outsourcing of services by the state medical services corporation (KMSCL) by utilizing the facilities of the empanelled drug testing labs.

It also reminds the government that there are threats in the drug distribution system, their storage, supply and usage both in public and private set ups. Unapproved combination drugs, formulations and dosage forms, drugs with similar/ identical/ same names, marketing of defective and manipulated pharmaceutical products, clandestine marketing network, clinical trials etc. are issues to be attended seriously. The state needs a data base on medicines used/marketed in the state. Some agencies supply medicines to the state and vanish from the scene and the drugs control department is helpless to trace them out. The new health policy should include measures to address this kind of issues also, the pharmacy council suggested.