E-Pharmacies- the death knell for retail pharmacies??
The
last decade and half has seen a surge of e-commerce ventures and changed the
landscape of trade and business. It has shrunk the world like
never before and allowed easy and quick access to a plethora of products to the
populace, spoiling them for choice. The manner and speed with which these
ventures have catapulted business into a fascinating realm, it was not long
before e-commerce entered into the healthcare sector. Surf the net and one will
come across products ranging from cosmetics, health supplements, and herbal
products to cosmoceuticals and nutraceuticals, all easily available for a price
and claiming panacea for all ailments, perceived and real. In the era of
information overload, these self-treatment options have gained disturbing
proportions. However, the advent of retail pharmacies into the E-space for prescription
drugs is a major cause of worry and to say that it is alarming is an
understatement. Will these online
pharmacies sound the death knell for retail pharmacies? Are they legitimate and
safe? Transportation under inappropriate storage conditions will affect the stability
profile of the drug and the patient will have no way of knowing this. Unscrupulous
elements will be able to market substandard, spurious or adulterated medicines
or even expired medicines in a new package. Pharmacists play a crucial role in
patient counseling in a lucid way in local dialect and ensure a safe and
rational therapy. This role will be undermined due to online pharmacies. The risk
of misuse and abuse of medicines such as steroids and abortion pills will
increase. The rampant use of antibiotics has led to the development of
resistant forms of many infections and the regulatory bodies have woken up to
this menace recently and have put curbs on over the counter sale of
antibiotics. Online pharmacies, with weak authentication mechanisms will lead
to a resurgence of this menace.
Online pharmacies did not have adequate regulatory
controls to safeguard the patients in India. However the Drug Controller
General of India has proposed new Draft Rule mandating provisions for online
pharmacies and specifies enforceable penal provisions for offences and
violations. It has also eased the licensing procedures for e-pharmacies. The earlier provisions that are retained
include regulation
of online pharmacies by the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945. They would also have to follow
regulations like the Information Technology
Act, 2000 and the Narcotic Drugs and
Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985. The new draft forbids the online pharmacy sector to advertise any
drugs over media mediums such as radio or television. The new guidelines also
provide for health data privacy for patients. The new draft, however does not
mention about the mechanisms for monitoring e-pharmacies as also the nature and
severity of penalties in case of violations. A large segment of health-based
products belonging to various ‘pathies’ and over-the-counter products have
still not been brought under the purview of these regulations.
What we are looking at is only the tip of the
iceberg. The manifestation of these negatives about online pharmacies in a
country like India can have far-reaching consequences to the healthcare sector,
which is already beset with a host of problems. In the era of Artificial
Intelligence and life on Mars, we cannot afford to lag behind and it may be
said that online pharmacies are here to stay. As per a report published by
FICCI e-pharmacies will account for 5-15% of total pharma sales in India. The
need of the hour is concerted and coordinated efforts by medical and pharmacy
professionals, regulatory bodies and the government to develop stronger mechanisms
and laws to protect the interests of the patients and to ensure fair trade
practices.
Dr. Monica RP
Rao
Associate
Professor,
Kennedy
Road, Near RTO.
