Shri J S Shindeji
President , AIOCD
Dear Sir:
I have read with interest , a news report in today’s
Business Line , re today’s strike by 8 LAKH chemists , over e-portal initiative
While supporting the right of the chemists to express
their protest through a strike , I would like to say the following :
·
One day ,
everything will be sold online
·
E-Commerce is just
another method
·
Any new initiative
will have teething troubles
·
Initial hick-ups
can be overcome
·
Problems get solved
along the way
·
From July 01 , GST
will prove my point
I urge you to read – and circulate among your member
units – my following blog ( earlier sent as email to all concerned )
With Regards,
hemen
parekh
(
M ) +91 - 98,67,55,08,08
Saturday, 24 December 2016
Online Sale of Medicines ?
Online
sale of medicines is unstoppable , if we go by following report appearing in
Hindustan Times ( 21 Dec 2016 )
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Soon,
all medicines may be sold online
The
drug committee, in its report submitted to the health ministry, has said
medicines could be sold online, but with changes in several laws .
Currently,
medicine sales are banned online.
The
report advises the government to amend several acts, including the IT Act,
Drugs and Cosmetics Act, Narcotics Act.
“The
report does not deny the possibility of medicine sale online. It just says
several laws need to be changed. Also, we need a flawless technical system to
regulate sales and route all e-pharmacies through a common platform,” GN Singh,
Drug Controller General of India, told HT.
The
number of weekly online shoppers have increased by 33% since last year, and the
number of daily online shoppers have become fourfold from 2013 to 2015.
The
government is working on a plan to support e-pharmacies with a strong
technology network. It is likely to test the model by allowing the sale of
limited prescription drugs in the first phase.
Singh
said most of the proposals that the state drug controllers submitted to the
government were in favour of the online sale of drugs.
However,
patient security still remains a concern.
The
government is also planning to tweak the Drugs and Cosmetics Act as there is no
clause on the online sale of medicines. “We need to amend several acts and they
need parliamentary approvals. This process could take a year or so,” Singh
said.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
But , will NDA government cease this opportunity to herald an era of ,
COMPREHENSIVE
HEALTHCARE ECO-SYSTEM ?
I
once again urge NDA government to consider implementation of such a Eco System
, based on my following blog / email , sent to NDA ministers earlier :
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday, 24 November 2016
Health
Care through Mobile ?
DNA
( 22 Nov 2016 ) carries a news report , titled :
"
Online e-pharmacy portals to make patients' lives easier "
The
details read :
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The
formation of a strict monitoring system
for online sale of medicines is underway by the Centre, that has come up with a
Self-regulation Code of Conduct for the E pharmacy sector for the Federation of Indian
Chambers of Commerce and Industry ( FICCI ).
The e-pharmacy model proposed by the apex business
organization provides,
*
digital tracking and traceability of medicines,
*
addressing the problem of counterfeit medicines
*
unsupervised consumption of antibiotics without prescription.
*
improved access and affordability of medicines for
patients.
The
e-pharmacy model has proposed that medicines must be processed only against a valid copy of a prescription from a
registered medical practitioner.
E-pharmacy
websites must also ensure no schedule X or other
sensitive habit-forming medicines are processed and that there are adequate checks in
place to prevent sale of such drugs.
“We
are working with private players to develop a centralized online
system that
involves manufacturers and supply chain managers to develop a fool-proof system for online sale of
medicines,” Drug Controller General of
India, Dr G N Singh said.
“Consumers
need quality medicines at an affordable price. Drugs and Cosmetics Act is the
most poorly implemented — thus making consumers vulnerable to counterfeit
medicines and self-medication,” said Bejon Mishra, Founder at Partnership for Safe
Medicines (PSM) India.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Congratulations
, FICCI !
I
am happy that you have taken cognizance of my following suggestion , sent to
you as an E Mail on 11 Oct 2015
I
do hope , in course of time , you will succeed in co-opting all the AGENCIES listed in my suggestion , to ensure for
our citizens , a world-class HEALTH CARE
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11
Oct 2015
(
let us call it , " Dispenser " )
On
14th Oct , 8 lakh pharmacy stores will go on strike to persuade Government to
prohibit sale of " Prescription Drugs " by e-Pharmacies such as 1mg.com / Zigy.com , not to speak of e-Com
sites like Amazon / SnapDeal / Flipkart etc
Reason advanced :
*
Online sale puts consumers at risk
Real reason ?
*
Loss of jobs of 4 million persons employed by 800,000 pharmacy stores
*
Loss of business worth Rs 80,000 Crores
Current legal provision :
*
Drugs and Cosmetics Act,1940 does not prohibit online sale of medicines
Govt response :
*
Set up a Committee to draft new provisions in Law to regulate online sale
My take :
*
One day , everything will be sold online from web sites 10,000 Km away !
*
There is no way march of EVERYTHING ONLINE can be stopped or slowed
My Suggestions :
* Govt to upload a Mobile App ( DISPENSER ? ) on Health Ministry web site
* All doctors must download it , after proper
registration / authentication
*
App will get embedded with full details of that doctor who uses it
*
Doctors to enter Patient Data in App / then enter prescribed Drug Details
*
Doctor will SMS app data entered , to concerned patient's mobile
*
Patient will SMS entered app data to mobile of Chemist of his choice
* Chemist will deliver the
medicine to the patient with Bill Details in App
* Chemist will deliver the medicine
to the patient with Bill Details in App
* Every action / transaction on
App , will get automatically emailed to web
Servers of
# Health Ministry
# All India Medical Association
# All India Organization of Chemists and
Druggists ( AIOCD )
# Drug
Controller General of India
Advantages :
*
Jobs / business of Chemists / Druggists saved
*
Great convenience for patients / no need to visit Drug Store
*
No chance of Chemist " misinterpreting " doctor's handwriting
!
*
Full History of
# Each Patient ( great benefit to Prescribing doctors )
# Each Drug
( great benefit to Pharma Companies )
# Each Chemist Shop ( great benefit to Govt / AIOCD / Tax Dept )
# Each Doctor
( great interest to All India Medical Association )
This
is our chance , not only to deliver world-class healthcare to millions but also
to get rid of a huge amount ofUNETHICAL PRACTICES in , what is a HUMANITARIAN
PROFESSION !
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
25 Dec
2016
www.hemenparekh.in / blogs
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