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 The Karnataka State Pharmacy Council (KSPC) has resorted to disciplinary actions with the removal of 32 registered pharmacists. Out of these, 16 registered pharmacists’ names have been permanently deleted. The remaining 16 registered pharmacists names are removed for a period of three months.
In doing so, the KSPC has taken steps to implement Section 42 of the Pharmacy Act,1948. Subsection (1) of Section 42 mandates that no person other than a registered pharmacist shall dispense any medicine on the prescription of a registered medical practitioner.
This actions is typically taken to uphold standards and ensure public safety in pharmaceutical dispensing across pharmacy outlets. Section 36 of the Pharmacy Act, 1948, empowers the Executive Committee of the Council to order removal of the name of a registered pharmacist from the Register either for a specified period or permanently if in its opinion the registered pharmacist is guilty of infamous conduct in professional respect, said Gangadhar V Yavagal, president, KSPC.
Allowing the owner of the pharmacy to use pharmacist registration certificate without attending the pharmacy amounts to infamous conduct on the part of the registered pharmacist in professional respect.
The Council after due process of providing the registered pharmacist a reasonable opportunity of being heard, has removed the names of 16 registered pharmacists permanently from the Register. In the case of the remaining 16 registered pharmacists, the registration has been removed for a period of three months.
The process of issuing notices and removal in cases of established instances of infamous conduct is an ongoing process. One positive outcome of the action initiated by the Council is that many registered pharmacists have realized their mistake and have withdrawn their names from the licensed medical shops. Action against the owners of the erring pharmacies/medical stores will also be initiated in due course, he added.
To start with, the Council appointed three inspectors in exercise of powers conferred under Section 26A of the Pharmacy Act, 1948. The Council had given wide publicity in the press about the implementation of Section 42 for the information of all those who are engaged in dispensing of drugs and had sought their cooperation in the matter, Yavagal told Pharmabiz.
In the course of inspections carried out by its team of inspectors several instances of registered pharmacists appointed only for namesake have come to light. In all such instances the Karnataka State Pharmacy Council issued notices to the owners of the shop informing the legal provisions and to ensure the presence of registered pharmacist. At the same time the registered pharmacists were also served with notice as to why their registration should not be removed for a specified period or permanently for infamous conduct in professional respect, said Yavagal.
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