INDIAN PHARMACIST ASSOCIATION

Maintainance of central register by the Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) containing the name of all persons for the time being entered in the register for a state is a mandatory requirement u/s 15-A of the Pharmacy Act, 1948. The data of registered pharmacists in the states has to be provided by the State Pharmacy Councils to the PCI after the first day of April of each year as per sub-section (2) of section 15-A of the Pharmacy Act. The PCI is not able to fulfill this mandatory requirement due to non-reciept of the register from the State Pharmacy Councils inspite of regular and repeated reminders.

Therefore PCI has requested the State Pharmacy Councils to provide the data of registered pharmacists upto 01.04.2011 alognwith a CD to enable the council to maintain the central register.

Free medicines to all patients visiting any government health facility across the country could soon be a reality with the health ministry ready to roll out a nearly Rs 30,000 crore ‘free-medicines-for-all’ scheme with the PMO’s strong backing.

The free medicine initiative along with an expansion of the National Rural Health Mission to urban areas, a more district-oriented approach and implementation of recommendations of the K Srinath Reddy committee on universal health coverage will be important focus points of UPA-2′s health policy. The scheme is also expected to be strongly backed by the Sonia Gandhi-chaired NAC at a meeting on February 17.

At a meeting chaired by Pulok Chatterjee, principal secretary to the PM, on Friday, the medicine-for-all scheme and other thrust areas got a thumbs up with PM Manmohan Singh keen to roll out health sector initiatives. The medicine proposal will help cut India’s tremendously high out-of-pocket (OOP) expenditure on health care.

Speaking to this reporter, a ministry official said, “We are ready to roll out the scheme which will provide free generic medicines to all those who visit government health care facilities across the country. This will reduce OOP expenditure and also encourage more people to visit government health facilities. However, we can’t make the announcement now with the elections on as it would violate EC guidelines.”

Instead of increasing public spending on drug procurement when millions of Indian households have no access to medicines, several large states have decreased fund allocation. Consider the case of Kerala. Even though the state spent the highest in India on drug procurement last year – 12.5% of its health expenditure – the expense was significantly less than in 2001, when it stood at 17%.

“We estimate that an increase in the public procurement of medicines from around 0.1% to 0.5% of GDP will ensure universal access to essential drugs, greatly reduce the burden on private OOP expenditures and increase the financial protection for households,” a report has said. Drug prices have shot up phenomenally in India over the past decade and a half. This has been the main reason for the rising costs of medical care, which more than tripled between 1993-94 and 2006-07.

In a move that may bring a major change in the overall performances of the working pharmacists in the state, the Kerala State Pharmacy Council (KSPC) is gearing up to strictly enforce section 46 of the Pharmacy Act 1948 from January 2012 onwards, under which no pharmacy outlet will be allowed to work without registered pharmacists dressed in uniforms.

As per the Act, every working pharmacist, whether in government sector or private sector, has to follow the code of conduct prescribed in the act, said K C Ajith Kumar, president, KSPC. He said this is in addition to the reform being implemented by the council by enforcing section 42.

With the implementation of section 46, uniform for pharmacists working in the pharmacies of hospitals and medical shops will become mandatory. No pharmacy outlet will be allowed to work without registered pharmacists dressed in uniforms.

“We have started the programme in certain areas of some districts tentatively, and it will be implemented in all the 14 districts from January onwards. Notices were already issued to all the hospitals, clinics and medical shops. Practical training has also been given to 17000 working pharmacists in a period of 10 months. The state drugs control department has also agreed to co-operate with this mission of the pharmacy council. Soon Kerala will become the first state in the country with all working pharmacists clad in uniforms,” Ajith Kumar told Pharmabiz.

He said the pharmacy council has chalked out a training programme for registered pharmacists and it will commence from March onwards. All the employed and unemployed pharmacists can join the three months program which will provide practical training classes for managing a drug store, retail dispensary, billing and management of clinical pharmacy. All graduates and diploma holders of pharmacy can enrol for the course with a nominal fee.

“The fresh graduates of pharmacy are not efficient to run a pharmacy or retail shop without training. Our advanced training programme will equip them to manage a store and provide the technical know-how required for better clinical and store practices. The first batch of the program will comprise 50 pharmacists and the duration of the course is three months,” the president of the pharmacy council said.

With this goal in view, the pharmacy council has established an institute for advanced training course, and in the end of the course a certificate will be issued to the participants.

Recruitment of Pharmacist in Rajasthan

Dear friends,

With the efforts of Indian Pharmacist Association – Rajasthan State Branch, Govt. of Rajasthan has given advertisement for the post of Pharmacist in Rajasthan.

There are total of 1010 posts.

Age Limit 18 years to 38 years as on 01.01.2012

Eligibility: Diploma in pharmacywith Registration in Rajasthan Pharmacy Council, Jaipur.

Apply online on website www.ruhsraj.org from 28.11.2011 to 17.12.2011

Online Exam Date: 15.01.2012 from 11.00 a.m. to 01.00 p.m. in jaipur, ajmer, udaipur, bikaner, kota, jodhpur center

For more details visit the website at http://epaper.patrika.com/17801/Rajasthan-Patrika-Jaipur/27-11-2011#p=page:n=11:z=1

In a major crack down on pharmacies for operating without registered pharmacists, the Andhra Pradesh Drug Control Administration (AP DCA) conducted raids on the retail and corporate pharmacies in the state and booked as many as 281 cases against the medical shops spread across the state.

In the raid, it has been found by the AP DCA officials that more than 70 per cent of the pharmacies in the state are operating without registered pharmacists and do not issue regular bills to consumers.

The raids were conducted by DCA as a part of its special drive to check the functioning of registered pharmacists in the state. The drug inspectors and other DCA officials found various irregularities by many medical stores and issued notices to them especially with regard to the absence of the registered pharmacists and for selling outdated drugs at the stores.

Corporate pharmacies like Apollo, Hetero Pharmacy, Medimart and Medplus were also raided.

When contacted a DCA official said, “We have conducted the raids as per the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 (DCA), the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945 (DCR). Many pharmacies are not complying with the rules and acts as mentioned while issuing the license.” Based on the complaints, the DCA has acted on the pharma stores and brought to light many irregularities.

About 406 retail medical shops throughout the state were raided  and out of these 281 retail medical shops were found selling medicines in the absence of registered pharmacists and without bills.

All the licensing authorities and assistant directors were directed to issue show-cause notices to the violators and appropriate action following the notices would be taken by the licensing authorities.

“We have noticed that registered pharmacists were not available at many retail pharmacies. So, the DCA inspected over 406 retail medical shops, including retail outlets of corporate pharmacies. Out of these, 281 medical shops were found selling medicines without pharmacists or without bill,” Said  R P Thakur, director general of DCA, Andhra Pradesh.

“We have even found that some expired drugs are being sold without bills and we have checked all these aspects while raiding the shops,” Thakur said.

“In addition to issuing show-cause notices, the shops will be closed for one week. If the same violation is repeated, we will cancel their license,” he said.

Source: Pharmabiz

Karnataka State Registered Pharmacists Association (KSRPA)is  insisting that the D Pharm needs to be restructured as 10+5 years  which is after SSLC +5 study course. The streamlining of the course pattern would become more effective for the candidates who would be able to get the required knowledge and experience in the field.

With the pharmaceutical industry on an aggressive growth path, there is need to reorganize the education system in the diploma  space, Ashokswamy Heroor, president, Karnataka State Registered Pharmacists Association (KSRPA) told Pharmabiz.

The Association has now urged the Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) to restructure the diploma course as a 10+5 year one. The requirements of 500 hours training may also be included as part of the 3 years study. The 500 hours could also be increased to 1000 hours which could cover dispensing and cosmetics manufacturing activities, he added.

“Alternatively, we suggest that the D Pharm could also be restructured as a 10+2+3 (SSLC+PUC+3) year study pattern. The compulsory training period may be embedded in the third year study,” stated Heroor.

New subjects like blood banking techniques, drug interaction reporting, clinical trial techniques, de-addiction procedures, computer basics, regulatory affairs, defending procedures in courts, consumer protection laws and provisions of the Right to Information Act, Weights and Measures Act, Packaged Commodities Act, need to be added on. Such topics would add much relevance to the current industry scene and prepare the candidate with the theoretical know-how which can be applied on the job, he said.

There is also a need to include the subject of Drug Price Control Order in the third year of the course. “It would help the candidate to not only upgrade the knowledge, get better job opportunities, but also help in handling the drug related offences like sale of spurious drugs, stated the president, KSRPA.

By adopting the 10+5 years system or the 10+2+3 years, the pharmacy colleges will also benefit in many ways. There is no doubt that the reoriented system will result in increasing the quality of pharmacy education and will give a fillip to the profession. Hence in the interest of all registered pharmacists, the KSRPA has urged the PCI to restructure the diploma study in pharmacy, stated Heroor in his representation.

According to Heroor, the decision to revamp the D Pharm comes in after the New Education Regulation 91 issued by the PCI said that diploma in Pharmacy comprises of two years of class room study after pre university course followed by the practical session of 500 hours spread over not less than  three months. “Under this D Pharm holder would have 10+2+2+1/2 years of study. The length of the course is viewed to disadvantageous for the candidates.”

The key detriments would be that the D Pharm with this syllabus  would come in the way of promotions for those in government service as they would be recruited as junior pharmacists and would have to retire in the same post. They are denied promotions to the senior pharmacists levels on the ground that these candidates do not have 15 years of formal schooling.

Another factor against the course is that candidates are not eligible to register as voters under the Graduate’s consistency for the same.

Despite the hue and cry to alter the pattern of D Pharm course as 10+4 after SSLC, the PCI had vetoed down the proposal. Now KSRPA has taken on the onus to recommend restructured as 10+5 years which is after SSLC +5, said Heroor.

Source: Pharmabiz

The Andhra Pradesh Pharmacy Council has launched a campaign against registered pharmacists who hire out their certificates to other unqualified persons for running medical stores. The council is planning to recruit Pharmacy inspectors in the state to check the illegal renting of certificates.

“Over the past 30 years, lending of certificates has become a regular practice by the pharmacists. More than 90 per cent drug stores are violating the norms of recruiting a qualified pharmacist for dispensing the drugs. Instead they are hiring certificates from registered pharmacists and employing unqualified people at the stores. To check this menace, we are planning to recruit 26 new pharmacy inspectors by the end of this year. These inspectors will have the authority to check and inspect the medical shops for any misrepresentation,” said Annappareddy Vijayabhasker Reddy, president, AP Pharmacy Council.

According to 1948 Pharmacy Act 26 (A), lending or impersonating certificate is a crime and if found guilty it will amount to a punishment of 6 months imprisonment along with a fine of Rs.1000. The council even has the right to derecognize the certificate.

To speed up the registration process and bring accountability in the council’s activities, the newly elected president is also planning to atomize the registration process. “We want to shun the old practice of issuing certificates manually, rather we want to computerize all the processes and make it online for the convenience of the candidates. We want to digitize all the earlier data and store it in a master server. This will enable us to retrieve and verify any query easily in future,” said Reddy.

For this academic year, the council is planning to complete all the registrations by the end of January 2012. So far, 71,000 pharmacists have been registered in the state, another 50,000 pharmacists have not got registered due to the issues related to non recognition of institutes. Next year it is estimated that about 72,000 pharmacists will get registered as the profession is slowly getting its recognition.

During the past 6 months, the council could generate a revenue of Rs.70 lakh by increasing the registration fee from Rs.500 to Rs.5000. “During the past 30 years, the state council could generate only Rs.2 crore of revenue, while other states like Maharashtra and Kerala have generated Rs.22 crore and 11 crore respectively. We are far behind them. Now, as we want to modernize and provide much better services we need money and thus we have increased the registration fee,” Reddy said.

Source: Pharmabiz

Not many medicines available have been known to be effective against skin ailments like eczema and athlete’s foot. A city-based pharmacy college, however, has developed anointment that may prove to be a boon for people with these conditions. The formula of the ointment has already been bought by a manufacturer.

Researchers from Sharad Pawar College of Pharmacy have taken a leaf from tribal and ancient knowledge about the sal tree to make this medicine. Not only has the college applied for a patent of the cream, they have already sold the formula to city-based pharma company, Vaidik Remedies.

“The medicinal properties of sal have been well known among the tribal population. It also finds a mention in some ancient scriptures. We only tried to give some scientific base to the ancient knowledge through our research,” said N J Duragkar, one of the researchers and a teacher at the college. He insisted that this step would be in reiterating the effectiveness of ancient medical practices like ayurveda over other forms of medicine. “It has been a big issue with practitioners of modern medicine that systems like ayurveda do not have enough documentation and there is an absence of a scientific explanation about the properties of their medicines. We have made a conscious effort to modernize our ancient medical system and ease out the criticism,” he explained.

Principal of the college, KP Bhusari was also a part of the research team. He said, “We have been able to extract and isolate the compound of the sal tree that helps fight against these skin diseases. We conducted a clinical trial on around 100 people who were grouped according to their ages. The two-year long trials included people from eight years of age to 75 year olds. Besides us, the team from Vaidik Remedies, also conducted an independent trial.” He informed that both the trials showed that the ointment worked effectively against itching and the various bacterial and fungal infections that affect the skin.

Housewives, housemaids and others who are more prone to develop fungal infections constituted the trial group of Vaidik Remedies. “We also found the cream to be effective against cuts and blisters. In fact, I tried it on my family members, too,” revealed Satish Vyavahare, MD of the company. He believes that such tie-ups would be mutually beneficial as both the research as well as pharma industries scene in Vidarbha has a lot of scope to develop.

Source: The Times of India

The Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) has asked the state licensing authorities not to grant fresh licenses or renewals of the combination products of paracetamol, containing more than 325 mg per tablet or capsule.

The DCGI, in a notice to the zonal and sub-zonal officers of Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), asked them to covey it to the respective State authorities. “The manufacturers marketing combination products having more than 325 mg of paracetamol should be asked to limit the paracetamol contents to 325 mg only in a period of three years,” it said.

The manufacturers of paracetamol combination products may also be asked to provide box warning on the label of such FDCs indicating that ‘taking more than daily dose may cause serious liver damage or allergic reactions such as swelling of the face, mouth and throat, difficulty in breathing, itching or rash,’ according to the order.

The order was issued based on the decision of the Drug Technical Advisory Board (DTAB) which agreed that as the paracetamol is known to have liver toxicity in the light of the decision taken by the US FDA, India also should limit the content of paracetamol to not more than 325 mg per tablet or capsule in the combination products in a phased manner in three years.

The proposal of limiting acetaminophen (paracetamol) was considered by the DTAB in the wake of US FDA issuing a note in January last year. The US agency asked the manufacturers of prescription combination products in USA to limit the amount of acetaminophen to 325 mg per table, citing the toxicity complications and with a view to ensuring patients safety.

The US FDA had also mentioned in the note that there was no immediate danger to patients who take these combination pain medications and they should continue to take them as directed by the healthcare providers. “The risk of liver injury primarily occurs when patients take multiple products containing acetaminophen at one time and exceed the current maximum dose of 4000 mg within 24 hours. The elimination of higher dose prescription combination acetaminophen products will be phased out in three years and would not create shortage of pain medication,” according to the US FDA note.

Source: Pharmabiz

Drugs and Cosmetics Act & Rules need to be modified and there is also a need to review the Schedule H drug List. The Drug Act and Rules also need to outline a clear Over- the- Counter (OTC) drug policy and also notify a ‘Pharmacist dispensing list of drugs’ and ‘Pharmacist to refer to Doctors list of diseases and medicines. These are the recommendations of the second  national survey conducted by the Delhi Pharmaceutical Trust (DPT) to ascertain the ‘Professional Aspects of Pharmaceutical Service by Pharmacist.’

In reality, such a move could have a number of benefits including improving access to medicines, reducing healthcare costs, stated Dr DBA Narayana, Managing Trustee, Delhi Pharmaceutical Trust (DPT).

Healthcare delivery model needs to be reviewed at the national level to involve pharmacists fully and major reforms in the same need to be thought of. Preparation of a list of common and minor diseases and drugs for treating such conditions need to be prepared. These were the recommendations based on the national survey conducted by DPT.

The All India Quantitative Study of Consumer Perceptions, availability, role, services provided and expectations of pharmacists in India revealed that there was a definite trend in the consumers recognizing the importance of pharmacists’ role in healthcare and the trust factor has gone up from what it was a decade ago. Consumers are also getting useful information from the  pharmacists about disease and drugs. Although more  details on drugs from all pharmacists are insisted, consumers are clear that they do not have to pay more for such information or for the counselling provided.

The study has also proved that consumers demands are increasing to expand the services provided by the pharmacists. Further, it was also ascertained that consumers had drawn up on what they considered as common ailments which were not serious and visit pharmacists to get the medication which is being encouraged. The survey respondents accepted that many pharmacists refer the case to doctors and stay away from dispensing drugs for cases of severe chest infections, said Dr Narayana.

Nine categories which allowed DPT to comprehend the psyche of the consumers towards the pharmacy business covered asking for handling prescription, disease conditions where prescriptions are insisted on, patient counselling, usefulness of information given by chemists, willingness to pay more for getting professional information, offer brand substitution, instances of prescription being referred to the doctor by the chemist, issue of bill on purchase and confidence on pharmacist to prescribe.

The survey was conducted on 3086 respondents across the country. While Dr Narayana supervised the study, he was assisted by Kusum Devi, Nimisha  Jain, T Naveen Babu  and Uday Bhosale, department of marketing and management, Al Ameen College of Pharmacy in Bangalore and Asha AN. Co- investigators were Roop K Khar, department of pharmaceutical sciences, Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi, Moitreyee Manda, department of pharmacy JC Ghosh Polytechnic, Kolkata and Manjiree Gharat, KM Kundnani Pharmacy Polytechnic, Ulhasnagar, Maharashtra.