Govt to meet e-pharmacy firms soon to address regulations concerns

The Union health ministry is planning to hold a meeting with e-pharmacy industry representatives soon to address concerns around the regulations that govern them.

Senior government sources indicated that the government is in favour of e-prescription, but wants to tread cautiously when it comes to e-pharmacies, given the wider implications. 

“We are ready to accept modernisation, but we have to create our own model. Countries like the US have done it by developing a software, where all medicines get tracked,” the senior official said. 

A senior official at an e-pharmacy said they are open to working with the government to sort out any concerns. “We are open to working with the ministry and regulators for alignment,” the person said.

Sources said the Centre is concerned around the data privacy issues as online pharmacies have patients’ medicine use and even diagnostic test data. There is a possibility of misuse of this data. On top of it, offline retailers have protested that online pharmacies go for predatory pricing to attract consumers, which, in turn, is detrimental for the small retail chemist shop. There are more than 800,000 chemist shops in the country.

The government is also likely to take into account the impact e-pharmacy industry would have on the off-line pharma companies and whether it will drive them out of business. “A lot of clarity is needed in this matter for which we need to have a physical meeting,” the senior official added. 

On the issue of data privacy, online pharmacy industry sources say that those are easy to comply with.

A Parliamentary panel had asked the health ministry last month to finalise the draft e-pharmacy rules and implement them without further delay.

The committee, headed by Abhishek Manu Singhvi, recommended in its report that the health ministry formulate comprehensive guidelines in consultation with stakeholders.

Three groups of assistant secretaries, one each in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Department of Pharmaceuticals, and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare were constituted to study the draft rules and submit their reports.

“Stakeholders, especially Chemists and Druggists Associations, opposed the proposed e-pharmacy rules stating that approximately 800,000 chemists would be out priced and shall go out of business… The chemists are presently not allowed to home deliver drugs while this is being permitted for online pharmacies,” the Parliamentary committee report stated.

The chemists represented that online pharmacies should only be permitted to sell medicines on the basis of e-prescription to avoid multiple dispensing of same medicines and also said that online pharmacies should not be allowed to sell habit forming drugs, anti-tubercular drugs and higher antibiotics.