20/12/2015
. A Good News will come from,central govt For pharmacist ..
source of News : Pharmabiz
Centre contemplating to allow pharmacists to prescribe medicines for common ailments in primary healthcare in rural areas
By Swati Rana, Mumbai, Friday, December 18, 2015
In order to fulfill the vacuum created by the non-availability of medical practitioners in rural India, the Union health ministry is considering a proposal from pharmacists' associations like the Indian Pharmacists Association for permitting the pharmacists to prescribe medicine in primary healthcare for treating common ailments which will also widen the opportunity for pharmacists in the country.
“We came to know that the matter is in consideration and the committee will be discussing it after the winter session. We are waiting for the official notification from the ministry. We are also planning to have a meeting with the health ministry in January and will be discussing all the issues related to pharmacists in the country,” said Abhay Kumar, national president, Indian Pharmacists Association.
The association has been demanding that instead of starting the B Sc community health programme, pharmacists should be trained to prescribe for common ailments as the B.Sc community health programme cannot substitute a qualified MBBS doctor and not even a qualified and experienced pharmacists.
The central government in 2009-10 had proposed to start the B.Sc community health programme to address the issue of non-availability of medical practitioners in rural areas in the country but the proposal had received resistance from doctors and pharmacists.
The association has demanded to the government to allow the pharmacists to prescribe medicine for common diseases and ailments at the primary level, so that the vacuum created by non-availability of doctors in rural areas can be filled by experienced pharmacists. The association has also shown an interest in volunteering the pharmacists for any such role to be played if the government entrusts to introduce non-doctor based cadre who can prescribe medicine in India.
In the developed countries like United States, United Kingdom, Canada etc the service and calibre of a pharmacist is utilised as prescribing pharmacist where the pharmacists are authorised to prescribe medicine. This delegation of right to prescribe medicine has played a major role in uplifting the overall health status of these countries. In India pharmacists in states like Punjab, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh etc are already prescribing medicine to patients but are waiting due recognition and appreciation.
The pharmacists are vastly available with qualification ranging from D. Pharma to PhD and are already well trained in pharmacology of drugs and their uses, side effects, drug interaction etc. Job creation for pharmacists has been in a slow lane resulting in several students staying from courses in pharmacy colleges across the country. Permitting pharmacists to prescribe medicine will not require any amendment in Acts like Drugs and Cosmetics Act, Pharmacy Act, etc., Kumar said.
Non-availability of sufficient MBBS doctors is becoming a major hindrance in implementation of various health schemes and programmes in India. This gap has eventually given an ample opportunity to the Jhola-chaap or quacks to flourish at large especially in rural areas. On the other hand this has compelled the government to look for non-MBBS based cadre who can fill this gap especially in the rural areas.
