Chemists to provide counselling to patients

Retailing of medicines is set to undergo a sea-change in the country, with pharmacy shops selling not only medicines, but also offering counselling services to patients and providing facilities for blood checks and sugar tests, among others, trade sources said.

The major reason for the overhaul of the trade is possible competition that would emerge from foreign companies after being allowed to set shop here.

Indian pharma outlets would counter the threat from foreign companies at the structural level by forming a company of their own, the All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD). Its president, J S Shinde, told reporters in Panaji today.

They have also formed a company called All Indian Origin Chemist and Druggist Distribution Ltd with a share capital of Rs 14 crore. Besides, there would be some state-level companies as well.

“We have formed state-level companies under the parent company in states like Maharashtra, Gujarat, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Rajasthan and a few more,” Shinde said, adding they were creating infrastructure, including warehouse facilities, at vital places to ensure medicines reach across the country.

“We have drafted our own model to introduce changes in the system, which is focused on the consumer as well as the retailer,” Shinde said.

AIOCD, which has 650,000 members across the country, has also decided to make pharmacies a place where patients are offered counselling about diseases and medicines.

“They will also provide primary health to the consumers right from blood check up, sugar test, calories test and others,” Shinde added.

Besides, to fulfil their social responsibility, AIOCD has also decided to provide medicines for HIV and diabetics patients, below poverty line, at a low cost.

The pharmacists will also double up as social workers spreading health awareness and inform people on the ailments like water borne and air borne diseases, he said.