ONLINE
SALE OF DRUGS - HEALTH
News:
On regulating online
sales of drugs in India
What's
in the news?
●
The Ministry of Health pulled up at least twenty companies including Tata-1mg,
Flipkart, Apollo, PharmEasy, Amazon and Reliance Netmeds, by issuing them a
show cause notice, for selling medicines online.
●
This happened after the All India Organisation of Chemists and
Druggists (AIOCD), a powerful lobby of over 12 lakh pharmacists, threatened
to launch a country-wide agitation if the government didn’t act.
Key
takeaways:
Government
stand:
●
The Ministry of Health has adopted a ‘blow
hot blow cold’ approach towards online pharmacies.
●
The acute need for door step delivery of
drugs was felt during COVID-19.
●
The year
of 2020 marked a watershed moment for the growth of e-pharmacies as the
Ministry of Home Affairs issued orders for them to continue to operate.
○
It saw nearly 8.8 million households using
home delivery services during lockdown.
●
Stakeholders in government have often
argued that banning e-pharmacies would not be a viable option as the demand for
online delivery of drugs is burgeoning and instead of banning businesses, the
sector should be regulated.
●
Government has framed draft e-pharmacy
rules to regulate the e-pharmacy sector.
E-
pharmacies:
●
E-Pharmacy is a pharmacy that sells medicines on the internet and
delivers them to customers.
●
E-pharmacies operate through websites or mobile apps where users can
upload their prescriptions, select the products they need, and place orders.
●
E-pharmacies made a bang in the market in
2015 and started offering hefty discounts on medicines in a bid to garner more
market share.
●
In the past eight years, the market
penetration of e-pharmacies has seen single digit growth from 3% to 5%.
●
However, they also pose regulatory challenges and concerns related to the safety,
authenticity, and quality of medicines sold online.
Pharmaceutical
Market in India:
●
The Indian pharmaceuticals market is the third largest in terms of volume and 13th
largest in terms of value.
●
India is expected to be among the top
three pharmaceutical markets by incremental growth and the sixth largest market
globally in absolute size in the coming years.
Draft
e- pharmacy Rules:
●
The draft e-pharmacy rules were introduced
in 2018, and were intended to
regulate e-pharmacy businesses into shape, but were shoved into cold storage.
●
The 172nd parliamentary standing committee
report also has stated about the delay of draft e-pharmacy rules.
1.
Definition of E-pharmacy: “business of distribution or sale,
stock, exhibit or offer for sale of drugs through a web portal or any other
electronic mode”.
2.
Mandatory Registration: The draft rules make it mandatory
for e-pharmacy businesses to register with the Central Licensing Authority.
3.
Data Localization: It mandates e-pharmacy portals to be
established in India through which they are conducting their business and the
data generated has to be kept localised.
4.
Privacy: It states that the details of the patient should be
kept confidential and not to be disclosed to any third party except the central
government or the state government concerned.
5.
Prescriptions: For carrying out the sale of prescription
drugs (i.e. drugs listed under Schedule H, H1 of the Drugs and Cosmetic Rules)
a prescription by a Registered Medical Practitioner has to be uploaded by the
customer.
6.
Prohibition on sale of certain drugs: The sale of drugs
covered by the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985,
tranquilisers and drugs listed under Schedule X has been prohibited.
7.
Prohibition on Advertisement: Advertisement of drugs
is prohibited on any media for any purpose by an e-pharmacy.
8.
Compliance with the IT Act: E-pharmacies have to comply with the
provisions of the Information Technology Act, 2000 (IT Act) and Rules.
9.
24*7 helpline: The rules state that complete information
on the medicines will have to be provided by the e-pharmacy holders and a 24/7
helpline should be made available.
Advantages
of e-pharmacy:
1.
Increased access: It is very easy to order prescription
drugs through E-Pharmacy. Especially for people who live far away from a
traditional pharmacy, the elderly, disabled people, and those who work very
intensively, this system is both a very easy and a very fast method of
obtaining medicine.
2.
Time effective: One of the most important advantages of
the E-Pharmacy application is time saving. One can order their medication
within minutes and get their prescription medicines very quickly.
3.
Affordability: Buying drugs on the internet also saves
money. Studies show that buying drugs online can save a third of money in
total.
4.
More drug options: E-Pharmacy, which offers a much wider
range of options than a traditional pharmacy, provides a great advantage to
patients. It is not possible to find every drug in a physical pharmacy in a
particular area, but there are many more drug options available in general drug
stores.
Disadvantages
of e-pharmacies:
1.
Lack of physical evaluation: One of the biggest
disadvantages of the online pharmacy model is the lack of physical evaluation
capability.
2.
Lack of confidentiality: Patients don't even know about the
doctor and their verified profile.
3.
Privacy issues: One of the issues that raise questions
about the E-Pharmacy application is the privacy of personal and financial
information.
4.
Illegal pharmacies: In some cases illegal pharmacies can be
grown.Some illegal online pharmacies sell over-the-counter drugs by putting
human health at risk, and it is very difficult to prevent this.
5.
Illegal drugs: Without any government regulation, this
can be a conducive ground for the sale of illegal drugs in the society.
WAY
FORWARD:
1.
Bring out e-pharmacy rules: The e-pharmacy rules should be
brought without any delay to regulate the e-pharmacies across the country.
2.
Regulatory authority: Central e-pharmacy regulatory commission
may oversee the activities of the e-pharmacies.
3.
Privacy issues: Stringent provisions should be brought to
punish the e-pharmacies who misuse the patients personal information.
4.
Illegal pharmacist, drugs, pharmacies: Decentralised field
level visit to monitor the illegal drug sale, illegal functioning of the
e-pharmacies.
5.
Integrate e-sanjeevani with janaushadhi kendras:
Tele-consultation of patients with doctors under e-sanjeevani and getting the
prescribed medicines from the janaushadhi kendras.