Pharmacy body to crack whip on unregistered persons running drug store

To crack the whip on the misuse of registration and certification of a registered pharmacist, the Karnataka State Pharmacy Council has decided to appoint pharmacy inspectors.

These inspectors will check whether the person running the drug store is registered or not. If any store is found to be run by an unregistered pharmacist, then the council will book a case against the defaulter and if the person is convicted, then he will be awarded a minimum of 3 months imprisonment.

Acting upon the provisions of the Pharmacy Act, 1948, the council in the recent meeting decided to appoint pharmacy inspectors at its own cost.

"All this while we were only sending a list of names, who had failed to renew registration in the pharmacy council, to the drug controller of Karnataka to take necessary action. But now taking a step ahead, the council has decided to check the malpractices of the pharmacists who have voluntarily pledged their certificate," said Gangadhar V Yavagal, president, Karnataka State Pharmacy Council.

He said most of the eligible pharmacists are not running the drug store, instead, they have given away their certificate and are involved in some other businesses. This is a known malpractice which was not taken seriously by the authorities. But now the council has decided to take action as recommended in the Act, added Yavagal.

The inspector will not bother about the drugs in the store. But they will only whether the registered pharmacist is present at the drug store or not, said DA Gundu Rao, vice president of the council.

"The inspection would be very simple for the inspectors, if a registered pharmacist is not available at the drug store, he would take down the details of the person present and then the council would book a case," the vice president added.

Rao said recently, the Kerala High Court had also directed the government to take stern action against medical shops found dispensing drugs without prescription of a registered medical practitioner or a qualified pharmacist.

However, Bhagoji T Khanapure, drugs controller, Karnataka said that they were the administrators of the rule that govern the drugs and its distribution. If the state pharmacy council also conducts an inspection, then they would be interfering in their duty.

"We have been carrying out random inspection and have taken action against the erring pharmacists. If we have two inspectors, the drug store owners may object to it," he added.