However, the medical stores located in the premises of government hospitals were operational.
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Eight lakh chemists across the country are planning to shut their shops on Wednesday to protest against the proliferation of online pharmacies. “We have made sure that all government pharmacies remain open”, D’Souza told Herald.
Shinde said the online sale of medicines increased the risk of adverse drug reactions/side effects and would enable the entry of unbranded and spurious medicines.
Various internet based business web portals are selling medicines on-line in violation of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act 1940.
The All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD) called for a nationwide strike, demanding action from the Centre against “illegal” online sale of medicines.
“Hence doctors in other branches like homeopathy and Ayurveda are practicing as well as prescribing drugs that fall under allopathy (modern medicine)”, he added, pointing out that there are also challenges of huge shortage of manpower throughout the country to maintain good governance. But online retailers pose a threat to their bricks-and-mortar peers in a market IMS Health estimates is worth about $13 billion.
The dispute pits drug retailers, many of whom belong to the middle-class voter-base of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, against the leader’s push to encourage tech and digital entrepreneurship in India.
While a few websites might allow users to upload prescriptions from doctors, the website would have no way to verify its authenticity, said Prasad Tamba, the president of the Goa pharmacists association. It argues that no person other than a registered pharmacist prepare or dispense a prescription medicine on the prescription of a medical practitioner.
Meanwhile, Govt. of India has asked Health Ministry to ensure that all Govt. hospitals across India are equipped to fill this void created, due to this strike.
The Ministry of Chemical and Fertilizers has also asked state drug controllers to keep a watch on supply of drugs by AIOCD and I required take appropriate action against the organization.
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Kulpreet Kaur, co-founder of Shop Pirate, a brand that is involved in the sale of online medicines, said: “There is no harm in technology acting as an enabler in offering convenience to customers”.
