1,030 pharmacies lose licences

Drug Control Administration (DCA) has suspended licenses of 1,030 pharmacies for incorrect practices in the year 2015.

The achievements of DCA, during the previous year include, streamlining of the licensing work using time lines and flow charts which led to reduction in licensing time, computerisation of the department by launching of website listing out procedures, online licensing system for pharmacies, medicines and drug stores, launching 'E Labs' software to ensure integrity of medicine samples for testing, and CCTV camera coverage of Drugs Control Administration.

The State governments of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and West Bengal have shown interest in following some of these modernisation schemes.

line-height: 22px; font-family: sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">A total of 83 M. Pharma students from OU and JNTU have been trained by the DCA lab in handling high-end equipment, shifting from e-monitoring to m-monitoring has been ensured, and android app of DCA developed which is being used by the department for inspection of pharmacies or medicine or drug stores.

Sharing the department’s feelings about their achievements, director of DCA, Dr Akun Sabharwal said, “We are the best in the country because of our approach and implementation. The pharmacies are cautious because of the continuous raids conducted across the State last year.”

He said, “this year we will try to consolidate all the data online. We are even launching a microbiology lab in the first week of March making Telangana the second state in the country to have a microbiology lab after Gujarat. Anti-biotic and microbial resistance will come down with the rules being implemented strictly and pharmacies will try to avoid selling drugs without prescriptions.”