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The draft National Pharmacy Commission Bill (2023) should be “set aside” as it is not democratic, and replaces the process of electing members to the Pharmacy Council of India, with a system of nominations and appointments by the Central and State government, said the All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD), in its submission to the Centre.
The draft had been circulated for comments and AIOCD President JS Shinde said, they have called for the bill to be “reconsidered in toto”, as it was centralised in its outlook and not inclusive of the diverse pharmacists’ community. The AIOCD, a platform for over 12 lakh pharma retailers and distributors, has sought a meeting with the Centre, Shinde told businessline.
The Bill seeks to set up the National Pharmacy Commission, located in Delhi, besides three boards involving education, ethics and setting up a registry of pharmacists, among other things.
Reflect profession’s interests
In its submission, the AIOCD said, “The democratic process of electing members (from) among the scientific pharmacy professionals shall be retained as per (the) basic principle of Pharmacy Act 1984 instead of all Government appointments as contemplated in the proposed Act.” The proposed shift from “a scientifically-oriented governance to a politically-driven one” could impact the effectiveness of the Act, ie to regulate and promote the pharmacy profession for the larger public interest, the submission said. Calling for the election of members, it said, the leadership needed to reflect “the profession’s best interests and not political motivations.”
Further pointing to inadequate representation of the pharmacists’ community, the submission said, “the dominance of academicians in the Act is without consideration of the fact that they are not practically involved day-to-day in the interaction with general public..Representation of community pharmacist(s) is grossly missing.”
Pointing out that there were 20 lakh pharmacy professionals registered in Índia, the submission said that 12.40 lakh were engaged in community pharmacies. “This indicate(s) that community pharmacists who are the major and primary interface with the public and significant stakeholders in the profession are without representation in proposed Act,” the AIOCD said. Calling for an equal representation by community pharmacists, it outlined diverse facets of the profession, including the teaching pharmacist, research pharmacist, industry pharmacist, regulatory pharmacist, hospital pharmacist and the large number of community and supply chain pharmacists.
Government officials are already “over loaded” and would not be able to contribute to the scientific development of the profession, the submission said. Pointing to the lack of representation of pharmacists who are diploma and degree-holders, the AIOCD said, “The draft fails to recognize (the) community pharmacy as a major stakeholder, particularly in the state chapters, thereby overlooking its pivotal role in public health care management.”
The function of state chapters was not elaborated, the submission said, and critical aspects including registration of pharmacists, renewal processes, etc have not been addressed, it added.
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