Treat drugged Drugs Inspectors

Sunday, 12 September 2010 18:14

Reply to Drugs Inspector (IB), Kollam

From,

Dr. Radha Krishnan, Proprietor, Parackattu Hospital, Anchal.

To,

The Drugs Inspector (IB), Office of the Asst.  Drugs Controller, Kollam

Sir,

Read your letter dated 9.9.2010, that as per Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, I have been doing illegal activities for the last 35 years since my graduation as a doctor. I was shocked, felt insulted and above all humiliated! However, I am glad for your reluctance to take drastic actions. Your love for poor patients is to be appreciated, though none is left for me, who treats them. I am at a loss to understand what prevented you from acting against me all these years. There were threats from Drugs Department before too, but this is the first written order allowing me just five days to fall in line. Therefore, I read the whole Act to see what made you think I am a doctor involved in criminal activities.

It is true I have a room in my hospital where drugs for patients in my hospital are stored. However, activity of my hospital, is not stocking / exhibiting for sale and selling drugs, as alleged by you. I am satisfied that you recorded it in the notice you served me. I have stocked the medicines as it is impossible to continue my profession without drugs and impossible for patients to get drugs at odd hours. We, unlike bureaucrats like you, work 24 hours a day and no illnesses pay visits to patients in stipulated hours. Only to help our patients doctors like me stock medicines in hospitals and if it is a crime, I will stop it immediately.

Exhibiting for sale and selling seems to be the next crime I committed. To ensure that my patients get the right drugs I prescribe, I have instructed to keep all drugs neatly arranged and in order. That is definitely not “exhibition for sale”. If you want me to keep drugs that I dispense to my patients in an airtight room, in total disorder, kindly advice.  Another crime I commit is selling drugs. For your kind information what I do is not selling but "supplying". I would like you and your superiors realise that all drugs in my hospital are purchased from Licensed Drug Stores after paying their bills. Those drugs cannot be supplied free. If you still insist that I should not charge the drugs that I administer to my patients, I will be forced to include cost of drugs in my service charges.  If that also is a crime, I am ready only to prescribe. Patients can get drugs from anywhere as they still have the liberty to do.  Your department’s heightened sense of duty and justice will have to make alternate arrangements with drug stores owned by businessmen and licensed compounders (pharmacists) to assure, round the clock availability of life saving drugs, to suffering public. Now they shut their shops when they want to, unlike us doctors. Kindly inform your decision in this matter also.

Finally, you demanded that I take a fresh Drug License to dispense medicines to my own patients.  As I do not want to sell drugs to make lot of money and for the simple reason that it is not my profession, I have no plans to take a drug license. Let the qualified pharmacists and businessmen do it and flourish. I am sure corrupt officers in your department and political masters will be very happy to have their share from them.

 The second paragraph of your notice is confusing. What you meant by – “You are instructed to all alternate arrangements permitted by law” - is beyond my normal intelligence. As your department has decided to close my “pharmacy”, that too illegally, it is the duty of DCA to make alternate arrangements. I cannot direct owners of drug stores around Anchal to work round the clock though they depend on doctors to make their exorbitant profits. If you cannot arrange that for patients of this town, I am not responsible. It is your duty to see that the patients are getting proper drugs at proper time.

In addition, as I have reached the fag end of my life and wish to retire, you may close that room in my hospital. I will be happy the public whom I have served all my life since graduation will not see me as a criminal. However, I am fully aware your notice is a threat to intimidate me and see the wishes and vested interests of your political masters and corrupt senior officers fulfilled, as honest officials like you are ignorant of the Act.

I took your letter seriously and studied the cited Act. I hope it will serve you better in future. It will help you to stand up boldly to those corrupt people in power, to disobey illegal orders and dance to their tunes, if I share this knowledge with officers like you. At least you owe it to poor taxpayers if you fully understand the Act yourself.

Rule 123, Schedule K, Item 5

“Class of Drugs Exempted: —

“5. Drugs supplied by a registered medical practitioner to his own patient or any drug specified in Schedule C supplied by a registered medical practitioner at the request of another such practitioner if it is specially prepared with reference to the condition and for the use of an individual patient provided the registered medical practitioner is not (a) keeping an open shop or (b) selling across the counter or (c) engaged in the importation, manufacture, distribution or sale of drugs in India to a degree which render him liable to the provisions of Chapter IV of the Act and the rules hereunder.”

The above sentence is self explanatory. What it says in unambiguous terms is — as a registered medical practitioner I am permitted to supply all drugs available in market to my patients. It also permits me to supply medicines in Schedule C to the patients of my colleagues.

However, I am permitted the above activities if I am not —

(a) Keeping an open shop, or,

(b) Selling across the counter, or,

(c) Engaged in import, etc.

Reading of the last part of the above sentence will make you realise that the Act permits me to do all the said activities, that I am not to do, cited under (a), (b), & (c) above, to a degree which render me liable to the provisions of Chapter IV of the Act and rules hereunder.

That means, that I can do all that said in (a), (b) & (c) above to a level or to some extent. If I exceed that level, then the provisions of Chapter IV of the Act and Rules can be applied on me.

Kindly inform me about the levels of illegal activity you permit me as permitted in the last part of the sentence in Item 5. As a responsible and honest officer, it is your duty to inform me whether I have exceeded the levels of sales / selling / and exhibitionism permitted so that I must take a license.

I would like to remind, you that you miserably failed to do it. Anyway, with the ‘five days’ you granted me please become familiar with the rules that you so honestly enforce at unwanted places. For your convenience, the same is copied:-

The other part of Item 5 is —

“Extent and Conditions of Exemption: —

All the provisions of Chapter IV of the Act and the Rules made hereunder, subject to the following conditions: —

(1)The drugs shall be purchased only from a dealer or a manufacturer licensed under these rules and records of such purchases showing the names and quantities of such drugs together with their batch numbers and the names and addresses of the manufacturers shall be maintained. Such records shall be open to inspection by an Inspector appointed under the Act, who may, if necessary, make enquiries about purchases of the drugs and may take samples for test.

(2) In the case of medicine containing a substance specified in Schedule G, H or X the following additional conditions shall be complied with;

(3)The drug will be stored under proper storage conditions as directed on the label.”

If you have not read what is written under “Extent and Conditions of Exemption” so far, I advise you to do it. It is “All the provisions of Chapter IV of the Act and the Rules made hereunder, subject to the following conditions-”

That said above means that “All Registered Medical Practitioners are exempted from all the provisions of Chapter IV, subject to some conditions.”

There are four conditions and I have quoted only three. The first condition is that I must purchase drugs from licensed drug stores and must keep a record of my purchases. When people like you come for inspection, you can ask for these records and inspect them. You have no right to enter my pharmacy without my permission.

However, while purchasing medicines I was under the impression that it was your duty to verify whether the drug dealers are duly licensed or not. Kindly give me a list of licensed drug sellers in Kerala to help my purchase clause.

If you are still eager to inspect any drugs stored anywhere, except that in the custody of qualified doctors, you can go to Govt. Hospitals, not to disobey your masters. To know why, read Item 5A in Schedule K.

As I am exempted from all the provisions of Chapter IV, (Sections 16 to 33A) I am not bound to take the ‘fresh drug license’ as per Section 18(c) of the Act. If you think that I have violated the activities permitted under “Class of Drugs Exempted” kindly, inform me to what level or degree I have exceeded, but let me also have the permitted level or degree.

I know that your duty is to enforce Drugs Act. Any actions on me away from the Act will be treated as violation of the Act and you will be answerable for trespass. Your actions need not be treated as those done in good faith. Section 37 of the Drugs Act protects only those actions permitted in the Act. Kindly do not complain later. There is no public interest for your illegal actions in my hospital.  Only your private and vested interests are at play.

Kindly note that there is a Review Petition — RP 794/2010 — in the Hon'ble Kerala High Court as directed by the Supreme Court. The SLP on Drug Licence case was not dismissed as you were told.

Thanking you.

Yours sincerely,

Dr. P. R. Radhakrishnan,

Parackat Hospital, Anchal

13 September 2010