Why a declaration by an RMP?
Wednesday, 15 September 2010 08:33
Declaration by a registered medical practitioner to buy drugs
The Chemists and Druggists of Kerala are people with a better horse sense than the officials controlling them. The letter from the Kochi area chemists' association copied will prove that.
By accident the Chemists read the definitions in the Drugs Act and found out the following—
2. Definitions.— In these Rules, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context—
(f) "retail sale" means a sale whether to a hospital, or dispensary, or a medical, educational or research institute or to any other person other than a sale by way of wholesale dealing;
(g) "sale by way of wholesale dealing" means sale to a person for the purpose of selling again and includes sale to a hospital, dispensary, medical, educational or research institution;
As per the definitions in the rules cited the druggists & chemists are not supposed to sell drugs in the name of medical practitioners. Retailers and wholesalers are permitted to sell only to a hospital, or dispensary, or a medical, educational or research institute or to any other person or a person. However, unlike the Drug Officials who stopped after reading Rule 2 (ee), the druggists read the sub clauses (i) & (ii) also and understood the meaning of "a person" or "any other person".
2. Definitions.— In these Rules, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context—
(ee) "Registered medical practitioner" means a person—
(i) holding a qualification granted by an authority specified or notified under section 3 of the Indian Medical Degrees Act, 1916 (7 of 1916), or specified in the Schedules to the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 (102 of 1956); or
(ii) registered or eligible for registration in a medical register of a State meant for the registration of persons practising the modern scientific system of medicine excluding the Homoeopathic system of medicine; or
The DC Authorities after reading the above definitions [Rule 2 (ee)] found out that a doctor is "a person" said in Section 18 (c) of the Act and found out that they must take Drug Licence to supply medicines to their patients. However, the word "supply" mentioned in Schedule K, Item 5 was also misinterpreted by the DCA and made it "sales". So for the DCA "a person" is the registered medical practitioner and the drugs purchased by a person is for sales and not supply as defined in Rule 2 (g).
On the other hand, the Chemists read Rule 2 (ee) (i) & (ii) and (f) & (g) together fully and found out that they cannot sell medicines to doctors and so to be on the safe side decided to obtain a "Declaration" from all doctors to whom they sell medicines.
The second paragraph of the declaration to be submitted to the chemists is the most irresponsible part and what business or authority these people (glorified pill pushers) have to decide what we do with the medicines. I pity those colleagues who swallowed all these insults forgetting their rights in the society.
Our great association — IMA — must be congratulated for driving the medical profession to the present level. Give them (IMA) a helping hand and they will see that we make more money selling medicines! The efforts of the IMA exempted single (unmarried) doctors and forced the Govt. to declare that all couple (married) doctors too will be exempted considering them as a single unit. However, there was a big confusion in many couples (whether the exemption was only for two or three doctors) and so many couples took Drug Licence ignoring the IMA achievement.
