Pharmacy professionals from 14 states in the country, who assembled at Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala last Sunday under the banner of All India Public and Private Sector Pharmacists Association (AIPPSPA), decided to apprise the union government and the pharmacy profession regulator, the Pharmacy Council of India (PCI), that a unified qualification framework is needed for the post of pharmacist or pharmacy officer in all the departments across the country.
In several sectors, the qualification of pharmacist is diploma in pharmacy (D Pharm) and in certain other sectors, it is degree (B Pharm). In the wake of Pharm D, some prominent posts of pharmacists (clinical pharmacist, drug information officer, etc) have been reserved for postgraduates.
At the PCI level, steps like amendments in Pharmacy Act and recommendations to the government are the two basic things to be initiated urgently. Raising this demand, the association will submit memorandums to the Union health ministry and to the PCI very soon. The association has entrusted the responsibility for submission of the memorandum to BS Desai, national president of the association.
Talking to Pharmabiz after the meeting, Desai said, currently the basic qualification of the pharmacist post is diploma in pharmacy (D Pharm), but degree holders and PG holders in pharmaceutical sciences are also working as pharmacists. The Pharmacy Practice Regulations (PPR) 2015 wants only degree holders as pharmacists. It is the duty of the PCI to amend the rule to that effect and recommend to the government to enact it. Desai said, for the upliftment of the profession, a unification in the qualification structure is essential all over the country. Similarly, pay-scale should also be unified.
Secondly, every state government should create a department of pharmacy, and the post of director of the department should be reserved as a promotional post from the pharmacist hierarchy. This will support the development of the pharmacy profession which will in turn support the overall development of the healthcare management system. He said this is a long-standing demand of the pharmacy professionals, but now under the banner of AIPPSPA, pharmacists will hold rallies in all the state headquarters raising this demand.
Another demand is that each state government should start degree colleges for pharmacy, as government degree colleges are very few in number at present. He said in Karnataka, there is only one pharmacy degree college under the government. All over India, both B Pharm and D Pharm colleges are under private management. Lack of government degree colleges is a hurdle to the growth of quality pharmacy education. A memorandum in this regard will be submitted to each state government by the respective branches of the association.
AIPPSPA further wants establishment of Centre of Pharmacovigilance and Drug Information Centre (PV and DIC) in each district headquarter in the country under the control of a drug information officer. The qualification of the officer should be a degree or above. Priority should be given to Pharm D professionals.
All the diploma holders in the country should be allowed to upgrade their qualification within five years of their entry into service. Government should support higher study during service. Gradually, a degree (B Pharm and above) should be made the minimum qualification for the pharmacist post.
According to Desai, today, states like Haryana, Punjab, Delhi and Maharashtra have changed the nomenclature of pharmacist to pharmacy officer. All over India, the nomenclature, pharmacy officer, should be made to the post of a drug dispenser in a pharmacy.
In March, 2025, AIPPSPA will organise rallies raising these demands and the office-bearers will submit memorandums to each government. Followed by it, in April, the association will organise a mass rally in New Delhi comprising pharmacists and their family members, and a memorandum will be submitted to the union health minister. All stakeholders of pharmacy including students, teachers, pharmacists, professionals from industry and trade will be invited to the rally. The association has sought the support of the All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists for this mission. He said zonal meetings of the AIPPSPA will be organised in seven places in India, such as Hyderabad, Kolkata, Guwahati, Delhi, Chandigarh, Gujarat and Bhopal before March next year.
Regarding the meeting in Kerala, he said representatives from 14 states participated in the meeting. Malarvannan from Tamil Nadu and Vijayalekshmi from Karnataka are the general secretaries elected for the next two-year term.
The organising committee member in Kerala, B Rajan, former KSPC president, said a rally will be conducted at Thiruvananthapuram in the second week of March, and 250 pharmacists from Kerala will attend the mass rally in New Delhi in April. He said the meeting held in Kerala was a big success. When asked about the national organisation, FIPO, Rajan said it is now in a dormant state.
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