The All India Organisation of Chemists Druggists (AIOCD) has stated that the Gujarat High Court has issued notices to the Central and state governments along with E-Pharmacy companies on a case filed in relation to the misuse of prescribing and selling medicines online.
The notices were issued concerning the process of arranging a call to the customer and their employed medical professionals where in on the basis of a skeletal discussion, a prescription of medicines is generated, stated a release.
During this consultation which is very limited, the identity of the doctor is not known and they do not see any medical reports before issuing a prescription, it stated, adding, this affects the health of the citizens directly.
This order by the Gujarat High Court is in line with the stay order issued by the Delhi High Court on December 12, 2018 where in ‘the online sales of medicines without license was injected’ and the stay order was continued on subsequent dates on August 1, 2019 and June 2 2019, it stated.
It is indeed regretful and despite Delhi High Court injecting the sales of medicines online without license, still the online pharmacies continue to mushroom and prosper with the backing of corporate funding and support from the Government, leading to severe ill effects on the health of the citizens, it further stated.
Till date, no license has been prescribed to sell medicines online and all online pharmacies are operating in illegal area, it added.
AIOCD has been regularly corresponding with the government to implement the order of the High Court and stop this unlawful activity and abuse of law by the E-Pharmacies for the sake of the health of the citizens, it mentioned.
It was submitted at the high court that such prescriptions have no sanctity in the eyes of law and action needs to be taken by National Medical Commission (formerly Medical Council of India) against the doctors who provide prescriptions which are not genuine, AIOCD stated.
It was also submitted that it is not even known that such medical professionals have the specialised qualification to prescribe the drugs on their letterheads, it continued.
It was further submitted that the websites selling the drugs and prescription medicines do not have licenses as required under Section 18 of the Drugs and Cosmetic Act, 1940 read with Rule 61 and 62 of the Drugs Rules, 1945, it stated.
Further, it was submitted that it is shocking that in the online pharmacies, certain scheduled drugs are dispensed without any Prescription, which can be ordered by the child aged below 18 years and which would be injurious to his health.
Further, it is submitted that the provision with regard to issuance of license to the e-pharmacy firms, also does not satisfy as there is no such provision mentioned in the Act, it added.
