Adverse drug reaction reports will suffer if online pharmacies are introduced in the country
Representational image
Hyderabad: Adverse drug reaction reports will suffer if online pharmacies are introduced in the country, stated doctors of Indian Medical Association who have criticised the step of the central government. Dr K.K. Agarwal, secretary general of IMA, said, “In March 2015, the Health ministry launched the Pharmacovigilance Programme of India to monitor adverse drug reactions associated with various drugs. A lot of work has been done in setting up such committees in hospitals and linking them to pharmacies to understand the manner in which the drugs are being used. If there are online pharmacies, then how will it all be traced?"
There is still a need to create awareness among people to report back to the hospital or the treating doctor about these adverse drug reactions. At the same time, issues of storage of medicines, improper packaging, mislabeling, recalling or withdrawing a drug are some of the major issues, which are now being handled through a proper network of chemists by the Drug Controller General of India.
Whether this monitoring will be done for online pharmacies is a big question. Dr S. Kishan, general physician and member of IMA, Secunderabad said, “The biggest attraction being marketed by the online pharmacies is the rebates to patients. But medicines must not be compared to clothes or other products, which can be brought off the counter. If a single prescription is misused several times, how will the drug controllers verify it? ”
The biggest fear for doctors is that there will be substitution of cheaper and spurious drugs and this will have a bad effect on not only the patients’ health but it will also increase the widening gap in the doctor-patient relationship.
( Source : deccan chronicle )
Next Story
