Maharashtra State Pharmacy Council (MSPC) has proposed to the state government to resolve the long pending issue related to the restriction imposed on pharmacy inspectors over inspection of retail pharmacies.

The pharmacy inspectors are not supposed to inspect retail pharmacies as per the government order dated 10 December, 1998. The order states that pharmacy inspectors shall have the power to inspect all the premises where drugs are compounded, dispensed and stored except the ones licensed under Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940.

The state directive was stated to have issued to avert the possibility of a possible clash of inspections by the state Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inspectors and pharmacy inspectors on any given retail pharmacy. Said Vijay Patil, president, MSPC, "Now that FDA authorities also feel that there is a need to remove the restriction, we are also planning to take up the issue along with increasing the manpower and other resources on the lines of Kerala Pharmacy Council (KPC). KPC boasts of 14 pharmacy inspectors for all its districts."

The issue has been festering for a long time now since its implementation in 1999. According to an official associated with the development, it took two years to get the final approval from the state government to appoint pharmacy inspectors. As per the government order, four pharmacy inspectors have to be appointed under Section 26 A of the Pharmacy Act, 1948 for implementation of Section 42 of the Act.

Considering the fact that Maharashtra has 35 districts, four pharmacy inspectors have been appointed so far to inspect only healthcare institutions. The latest official reports reveal that over 25, 000 inspections have been conducted in hospitals, nursing homes, semi government, trust and charitable hospitals across the state from July 1, 1999 to December 31, 2012 by the pharmacy inspectors.

Though Registered Medical Practitioners (RMP) are exempted from the purview of the act to dispense medicines but are liable to be prosecuted if they hire or recruit unqualified person for the job of dispensing medicines in their clinic or premise as per the law.