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It may not be uncommon for consumers to ask their neighbourhood chemist to suggest a medicine for a nagging cold or a sore-throat.
But taking this informal situation to the next level, the neighbourhood chemist-shop is undergoing a not-so-obvious change to extend support services to customers, including information on medicine-related adverse reactions and patient-counselling for specific illness.
A silent change from being just a trader to becoming a professional, running a community pharmacy, say chemist association representatives.
This change is being driven not just by the fact that patients rely on the “chemist”, second to only the doctor itself; a fact borne out by a recent all-India study undertaken by the Delhi Pharmaceutical Trust (DPT), a body of professional pharmacists involved in community-pharmacy related work for about 15 years.
Triggering the change is also the presence of organised medicine-retail players, observed Mr J. S. Shinde, General Secretary of the All-India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD). Naming organised chains including Apollo, MedPlus and Guardian Life Care that are already present in the country, he said, foreign networks too could enter this space, if the foreign direct investment norms in retail are relaxed. Besides, with product-patent protection norms making it difficult to produce similar versions of innovative medicines, multinationals are comfortable bringing in such products and backing them up with patient-support systems, he added.
Training
“Chemist shops are supposed to have trained pharmacists, and yet it is common to see regular shop-assistants dispense medicines. The Government and Pharmacy Council has introduced the Pharm-D course to train pharmacists not just technically, but also in terms of support services,” says Dr D. B. A. Narayana, a regulatory expert and Managing Trustee of DPT.
Bridge courses to train other personnel also in similar support services are being mooted, as there are about 7.5 lakh chemist shops and only about 6 lakh pharmacists, say industry representatives.
On its part, the AIOCD has become a corporate entity over three years ago to become service providers for chemists, by running training courses and developing online content as a ready reckoner on medicines, Mr Shinde said.
Up the ladder
“In fact, pharmacists should be moved up the ladder to take the burden off the doctor,” says Dr Narayana, giving the example of the UK, where pharmacists dispense medicines for common illnesses, guided by a constantly-reviewed list of such ailments. A more serious illness gets referred to the doctor, he said. A similar system should be brought into India, without turf-battles between the medical and pharmacy councils, he added, as consumers already trust the pharmacist, and in the end, it works in the interest of the consumer.
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