Kollam: The move by the Union government to amend the Schedule K of Drugs and Cosmetics Act, permitting non-qualified persons including Asha workers to dispense medicines poses a threat to public health, according to experts.The pharmacists who are qualified for the purpose, in turn, fear they would lose their chances in such projects that distribute medicines.
There are no efficient means to curb the practice of appointing non-qualified persons in place of pharmacists in medical shops violating norms.
To implement the Union government's projects in the health department, nurses and other staff are recruited apart from pharmacists based on an amendment of 1980 classifying them as multi-purpose workers."Now, people who have no exposure to the medical field including Asha workers are incorporated in this," O.C. Naveen Chand, State Pharmacy Council president, said.
"According to Section 42 of the Act, only pharmacists should handle medicines. It should not change."
For the persons employed to dispense medicines at doorsteps or over the counter, there should be basic knowledge about the drug and drug interactions and other complications. These persons should ask the patient whether they are consuming any other drugs, which should not have interaction with the newly given one.The proposal is to amend Schedule K under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, reforming the amendment of 1980.
"Appointing persons other than pharmacists to dispense medicines is not ethical when thousands of qualified pharmacists wait for employment," K. Naushad, president of Kerala Anti-Corruption and Human Rights Protection Council, said.
"Non-qualified persons distributing medicines could also be considered as a human rights violation, and the government should be ready to pay compensation if any hazards happen."
According to an RTI reply received by Mr Naushad, there are 15,191 retail modern medical shops across the state. A majority of them have non-pharmacists dispensing medicines over-the-counter.
