GUWAHATI, Nov 22 - The Association of Advanced Pharmacy Practitioners (AAPP) has said that mushrooming private institutions in India including in Assam providing pharmacy degrees and diplomas in exchange of money pose a serious threat to the health of patients.
The Association in a press conference today demanded a high-level inquiry to address the issue.
�The Central government should constitute a high-level inquiry committee under Section 45 of the Pharmacy Act 1948. There are some institutions in Assam also which provide degrees and diplomas in pharmacy by taking huge amounts of money. The State government had earlier identified 1810 illegal pharmacists in the State but they are still running their pharmacies�, said the Association�s president Birendra Kumar Barman.
�The private institutions mainly outside the State are carrying out these kind of activities and produce fraud pharmacists in the country. The State Pharmacy Council must be empowered to inspect the pharmacy institutes and these kind of frauds. We also demand implementation of entrance examination (under the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test and National Exit Test) examination in pharmacy and also to implement the Pharmacist Registration Tracking System (PRTS) as soon as possible�, he added.
The Association also requested the State health department to make a dress code and wearing of name plate with registration number mandatory for the pharmacists. A new prescription format as per MCI guidelines and PPR 2015 should also be implemented in the State immediately, it demanded.
The Association prepared a 15-point charter of demands which includes resolving of pay anomalies and proper cadre restructuring of pharmacists working in different departments in the government sector; upper age limit to be fixed at 25 years for admission in pharmacy courses; NHM pharmacists must get basic pay as per government of India�s norms and ESI health cards be issued to them; pharmacy graduates must be included as mid-level practitioners as per Section 32 of the National Medical Commission Bill 2019; problems faced by tea garden pharmacists should be sorted out and minimum pay standards for pharmacy graduates working in industries be fixed among others.
