Pharmacists demand implementation of amended drug rules

PESHAWAR: The pharmacists on Monday asked the provincial government and health authorities to implement the amended Drug Rules of 2017 in the province.

Speaking at a press conference at the Peshawar Press Club, Pakistan Pharmacists Association Khyber Pakhtunkhwa General Secretary Dr Ihsanullah said the provincial government had introduced amendments to the Drug Rules of 1982, which were aimed at making the laws on a par with needs of the present time.

He said that under the rules, a person running a medical store or pharmacy besides having a licence from the department concerned would also need to be a pharmacy graduate or diploma holder.

Flanked by the association office-bearers, Dr Ihsanullah said that only pharmacy graduates and licence holders would be allowed to engage in the wholesale business. He added that the pharmacy graduate or diploma holder and licence holder’s presence would be necessary during the opening hours of the medical store, pharmacy or wholesale store.

Dr Ihsanullah said the amended rules bound the pharmaceutical companies to supply medicines to only those outlets, where trained, qualified and licence-holder employees worked.Under the rules, the association general secretary said, the medical store, pharmacy or wholesalers have to display the certificate of qualification at a prominent place in their outlets.

He said the rules would make it binding on them to build their establishments as per the given specifications. He added that the pharmacists would not be allowed to sell certain types of medicines without a doctor’s prescription.

Dr Ihsanullah added that the medical stores would have to install green signboards with white writing, pharmacies red signboard with white writing and wholesalers blue signboard with black writing on it.

He said the provincial government had decided to recruit a pharmacist on a 50-bed hospital in the province under the drug policy and as per direction of the superior judiciary, which would be completed in two phases.

Dr Ihsanullah said the pharmacists had recruited under the initial phase at major teaching hospitals in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, but for the second phase pharmacist positions at district and tehsil headquarters hospitals were yet not made part of the provincial budget for financial year 2018-19. He said the budget had already been prepared, urging the chief minister to approve the appointment of pharmacists at district and tehsil levels through a summary.