If you or someone close to you is suffering from an ailment, it might be a good idea to stock up on medicines before Tuesday night. Eight lakh chemists across the country are planning to shut their shops on Wednesday to protest against the proliferation of online pharmacies. Brick and mortar stores claim these web retailers are operating illegally and potentially causing health hazards.
As with so many other things, it is now possible to fulfill the vast majority of your healthcare needs online. From consulting a doctor to having prescription medicines delivered at home, everything is accessible through the internet. But these conveniences aren't without their problems.
An investigation by the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration in May against e-tailer Snapdeal found it selling as many as 45 prescription drugs that only a licensed pharmacist can retail.
Regulatory loopholes
Pharmacists across the country, facing competition from the sites and apps, are insisting that this regulatory loophole be shut. The drug distribution industry in India is estimated to be valued at around Rs 83,000 crores, which could more than triple to cross Rs 300,000 crores by 2020, according to reports. Even though online medicine retailers don’t have much of a share of this pie, their numbers are growing steadily. For instance, the online medicine retailer 1mg.com claims to receive more than 5 million visits each month and says that its app has been downloaded more than 3.5 million times since 2012.
Even as the government has set up a committee to look into the online medical sector, chemists around the country have demanded an immediate ban on these sites until guidelines are in place.
“What they [online pharmacies] are doing is completely illegal,” alleged JS Shinde, President of the All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists, which claims to represent more than 99% of India's chemists. “We have submitted proofs to the government of India about how these e-tailers are selling habit-forming medicines, scheduled drugs and even pregnancy termination kits online which is in complete violation of the laws of the land.”
The chemists' association argues that selling medicines online violates the Drugs and Cosmetics Act as well as the Information Technology Act. It argues that no person other than a registered pharmacist prepare or dispense a prescription medicine on the prescription of a medical practitioner.
However, people who run online pharmacies claim that they are aren't violating any rules and have checks in place to counter illegal sales of medicine. For instance, 1mg.com said that it dispatches prescription medicines only after the buyer uploads a prescription by a certified doctor on the site and its team has a chance to go through it.
Prashant Tandon the founder of 1mg.com, insists that his business model is "fully compliant with the law" since their web platform passes on the customer's order for fulfillment to a real-world pharmacy that meets all the regulatory pre-requisites.
Stringent norms
"The offline store operates like any pharmacy store, and must have a pharmacy license and a registered pharmacist dispensing medicines," he said. "Responsible ePharmacies like ours also ensure that no request is forwarded without a prescription, no order is dispatched without a legitimate bill and batch number [to ensure tracking and authenticity] and we provide a system that is better than the prevailing model in almost all respects."
Tandon also criticised Wednesday's planned strike by the brick and mortar stores.
"It is unfortunate that they are resorting to such moves, given that the regulator is already providing a proper platform for all parties to voice their concerns and put their point forth," he said. "This move will just cause a lot of inconvenience to patients and their relatives, who are really not the entity who should be inconvenienced for such a socially responsible service."
Protesting the protest
Meanwhile, Indian Pharmacists Association, which maintains that it is opposed to online pharmacies, said that it doesn't support the chemists' strike because this could result in a great deal of inconvenience to sick people.
“This is no way to protest,” said Abhay Kumar, president of the association. “What is between the government and us should not harm consumers. A shut-shop protest is not only unethical but it is dangerous too. Where will those go who need medicines urgently if all shops are closed?”
Kumar reiterated that his organisation is working to force the government to rein in the online sale of medicines but won’t participate in such protests.
“We should give time to the government to think about their policies before taking such measures,” he said. “There is an outbreak of dengue and H1N1 in many parts of the country and shutting shops will be irresponsible on the part of chemists.”
But the chemists' association says that it has put into place safeguards to protect against anything untoward.
“We want to ensure that there is no harm to anyone because the pharmacies are closed,” said Organisation of Chemists and Druggists President JS Shinde. “We will try to provide emergency counters in each area so that medicines can be reached to the ones in need quickly and contacts will also be placed with police stations and authorities.”