90% of pharmacies are ‘fake’ in Andhra Pradesh

Nearly 90 per cent of the 50,000 pharmacy stores in the state are being run by unqualified persons using the certificates of  registered pharmacists. The store owners ‘borrow’ the certificates from registered pharmacists for a price and secure licences to run their  stores, AP Pharmacy Council president Vijayabhaskar R Annapareddy has said.He told reporters here on Tuesday that the Pharmacy Act 1948 mandates that dispensing of prescription drugs must by done only by registered pharmacists. ‘’However, this is not being followed at 90 per cent of the pharmacy outlets in the state. Several pharmacy store owners are taking advantage of the unemployed pharmacy graduates or diploma-holders who are being forced to ‘lend’ their certificates to these pharmacy owners for a consideration of as meagre as Rs 3,000 to Rs 5,000 a month. Unfortunately, even some well-known pharmacy groups which are running chains of retail outlets are resorting to such practice,” he said.The APPC has decided to crack the whip on such outlets from July and ensure that only registered pharmacists are dispensing the prescribed drugs. On the other hand, the council has decided to facilitate unemployed pharmacists to get jobs by organising interactive workshops between the pharmaceutical companies and unemployed youth in the pharma sector. “For the last two years the retail sector in India has been growing at around 35 per cent,’’ Vijayabhaskar said and urged pharmaceutical firms to provide jobs to fresh graduates with minimum wages. He said the council would set up a Career Guidance Cell to provide jobs to fresh pharmacy graduates. A Pharmacy Registration Council Tribunal is also on the cards.