The Gujarat Food and Drug Control Administration (FDCA) was recognized by Partnership for Safe Medicines (PSM) India for using innovative technological methods to ensure patient safety. The award was conferred to the state drug regulatory agency for developing its revolutionary self-licencing software Xtended Licensing and Laboratory Note (XLN) and using it effectively to adopt good governance in the regulatory system to raise its standards.

This software, an integral part of the e-governance programme adopted by the Gujarat drug authority has been successful in regulating the sales and manufacturing aspects related to drugs, food and cosmetics; issuance of licenses, etc.  One of the most important features of this software is that it enables the registration of all the pharmacists and chemists within the state which prevents multiple illegal enrollments of pharmacists, a grave issue that regulators have to tackle with today.

It efficiently helps in the timely dissemination of vital information and alerts on substandard or not of quality drugs manufactured in the state to all of its 31,700 retail chemist shops in an instant. Direct SMS is sent to the chemist shops located anywhere in the state of Gujarat, which ensures that they need to immediately stop selling it to the patients.

This helps in immediate and effective recall or stop sale of such drugs that could harm the patient’s health at large. Dr Hemant G Koshia, commissioner of Gujarat FDCA added that the same information is also put on their website for awareness of the general public as well.

"Safeguarding the interest of our patients is our utmost priority, which we understand and can be effectively done through smart use of technology. Especially, since we can ensure and offer faster service that is prompt and to the point to help make safe healthcare choices. Most importantly, it helps in bringing transparency into the system, which is very essential to boost confidence and trust among the stakeholders. Thus we are very happy with this recognition as it stands testament to all the hard work our team has put it in over the years to bring in good governance through use of information technology," Dr Koshia stressed.

The award was conferred to the state FDCA in the presence of the drug controller general of India (DCGI), Dr GN Singh and Dr Surinder Singh, the ex DCGI at the university of Kashmir, Srinagar. Apart from Gujarat, the state drug regulators of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu was also recognised by PSM India during this event. It is understood that Karnataka drug control department was awarded for efficient drug collection and sampling process, while drug control department of Tamil Nadu was recognised for effectively investigating and prosecuting maximum number of erring chemist and retail owners.