Prescription or not? At neighbourhood medical stores, consumers say rules are not always followed
A nationwide survey by LocalCircles reveals that a majority of Indian medical stores frequently sell prescription drugs without requiring a valid doctor's prescription. In response, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has proposed mandatory CCTV surveillance in pharmacies to improve compliance and traceability.
Why it matters
The lack of prescription enforcement poses significant public health risks, including the potential for drug abuse and improper medication use.
Imagine walking into a neighbourhood medical store with a prescription in hand. The pharmacist checks the medicine, packs it and hands it over. But what happens when there is no prescription? According to a nationwide survey, for a large number of consumers, the answer is that the medicine may still be sold. The finding comes as the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has proposed installing CCTV cameras at medical stores to make prescription-medicine sales traceable.
The survey, conducted by LocalCircles, saw about 1.06 lakh responses from consumers across 327 districts of India. Of the total respondents, 63% were men and 37% women. Besides, 52% of them were from tier-1 districts, 29% from tier-2 districts and 29% from tier-3, 4 and 5 districts.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in