The Karnataka State Registered Pharmacists Association (KSRPA) called for a drastic revision to the regulatory system in the pharmaceutical industry and healthcare sector. The Association feels that matters like issue of drug licenses only to registered and qualified pharmacists, cancellation of licenses of pharmacies run by non-pharmacy chemists and inspection of blood banks and nursing homes for assessment of medicine stocks and quality are something to be seriously considered for action by the regulatory authorities.

In correspondence to the Karnataka Drugs Controller Dr BR Jagasheety who heads the Committee for Amendments to the Drugs & Cosmetics  Rules, Ashokswamy Heroor, president, Koppal district Chemists & Druggists Association and Indian Pharmaceutical Association, Gangavati, Karnataka and vice president, Federation of Chemists & Druggists of Karnataka, said that these are some of the changes required in the drug law to bring in better efficiency to the pharmacy business in the country.

He stated in his presentation that the D&C Rules needed to be re-devised on modern lines.

In order to solve the unemployment problem among the qualified pharma professionals, everything needs to be made to ensure qualified and registered pharmacists manned the counters from distributors to retail.

“Drug license should be only issued to registered pharmacists and not to the proprietor or partner of the outlet. Registered pharmacists should be involved in the constitution as a proprietor and not as an employee. Any change in the qualified staff, fresh license has to be applied for from the drug regulatory authority, stated Heroor.

There is also need to implement certain policies in the interest of public health. This is where the KSPA proposed to organize training and re-fresher courses for the employees of the pharmacy outlets and health departments which should also include Ayurveda, Yoga Unani, Siddha, Homoeopathy, (Ayush). Such sessions would provide the candidates to update themselves on the latest developments.

Further, there is also need to take necessary action to stop medical practice by unqualified personnel. This is where the medical and drugs control department should have powers to control such activity which is rampant in the country. It could also put an end to the prescription of unsafe and ineffective drugs, he said.

As part of better health practices, doctors should ensure that they practice only in the medical stream they have qualified. This would prevent adverse drug reactions, inappropriate use of antibiotics, excessive use of anabolic steroid for growth, tonics for malnutrition which are increasing incidence of drug resistance and super infection stage which cascades into an economic burden on the population, said Heroor.

Referring to unethical practices of pharma companies where physician samples were accompanied with gifts, Herror instated that the drug regulatory authority could ban this practice. “One of the rampant activities is the offer of foreign trips to doctors and expensive gifts to prescribe a particular drug. This calls for the need to create a network of teaching hospitals and national healthcare centres to be able to use the new drugs on patients as and when required in an ethical manner,” he said.