Licenses of over 50 chemist shops scrapped for Running without pharmacist

Agra: Coming down heavily on chemist stores functioning without a pharmacist, the district drug administration has recently cancelled licenses of over 50 such chemists. This happened after despite several warning the medical shops continued to work without a pharmacist, thereby posing a potential risk while dispensing drugs.

The terms chemist and pharmacist are often confused wherein taking undue advantage of this, medical stores are often run without a pharmacist, who undergo university-level education to understand the biochemical mechanisms and actions of drugs, drug uses, therapeutic roles, side effects, potential drug interactions, and monitoring parameters.

Several warnings and notices were furnished to the chemist shops for violating the norms. However, a casual approach was witnessed from the chemists regarding the same. The department had issued notices to all these shops for appointing a pharmacist by June 30, which was completely overlooked by the chemist shops reportedly situated in the rural areas. Subsequently, the drug administrator has taken stringent action and has cancelled the license of 54 chemist shops.

With this, the online portal of the drug administration has a list of 2,794 registered chemist shops in the district.

A total of 2848 chemist shops registered with the drug department is working in Agra district. However, of these license of 70 chemist shops have not been renewed till date for not having a pharmacist, reports TOI.

Applications for operating a chemist shop are accepted online. Drug administration online portal for licensing requires the name of pharmacist along with details such as academic certificates and Aadhaar number.

Through this, it becomes mandatory for a chemist shop owner to appoint a full-time pharmacist. The online software discards an application on a repetition of details of a pharmacist. Till February 2018, the entire process was manual.

Reportedly, many chemist shops used to share a single pharmacist to do away with the process.

"The online registration system has significantly helped in checking chemist shops operating without pharmacist. Now, one pharmacist cannot associate with several chemist shops. During the annual licence renewal process, 54 shops were identified as not having a permanent pharmacist. They failed to appoint a pharmacist in the given time period. Now, their licences stand cancelled. In case found operating, an FIR will be registered against them," drug inspector Brajesh Yadav told TOI.