August 1 may turn into a bad day for patients as chemists plan to shut shop to protest against a government order to make prescriptions compulsory for the sale of 74 listed antibiotics. The strike is against the government decision to replace Schedule H by Schedule Hx in the Drugs and Cosmetics Act-1940. Also the chemists are required to keep a record of the prescriptions for the next financial year.
Rajdhani Medicare’s Vaibhav Gupta, who is not sure if he is participating in the strike, is worried, as the implementation will cut down his business by almost 50 per cent. “Ninety per cent of medicines come under Schedule H. Only 20-25 can be sold on the counter. Our sales will drastically go down. Also, it is not feasible to keep a record of the prescriptions. Not every chemist store has that kind of space,” he says.
Agrees Manish Kumar, assistant store manager, 98.4, “This proposal will affect the poor the most. They can’t afford to visit a doctor every time they fall sick. After this amendment, we will be handcuffed and the common man will suffer. People need lifesaving drugs in emergency situations, and it is absurd to make them travel to find them in case one store doesn’t have all your requirements.”
The move will be inconvenient for consumers with minor illnesses especially if the trouble hour is at night when one might find a drug store open, but no prescription to get you relief. “If one has high fever at night but the appointment with the doctor is fixed at 11 in the morning, how is one going to cope with it? Suppose the doctor consults you over the phone, we will still need a written prescription. Yes, the chemists will continue to sell illegally, but this way black marketing will go further up,” says Gaurav Sharma, cluster manager at Religare Wellness.
Whereas Dr Shubhangini Gandhi says the move will put a full stop on the habit of self-medication. “Patients think it’s cool to pop pills on their own. But it is harmful in the long run. When we give antibiotics to patients, we ensure the course is complete. However, when people take medicines on their own, they develop antibiotic resistance. I think it will benefit patients.”