PCI to amend PPR 2015 to bring in ‘ease of doing service’ by fixing patient-pharmacist ratio to 100:1 in OP wards & 75:1 in IP wards
To uplift the profession of pharmacy more patient-friendly
and to bring in ‘ease of doing service’ in the hospital settings, the Pharmacy
Council of India (PCI) is contemplating to make amendments in the Pharmacy
Practice Regulations (PPR) 2015 as per PCI norms, it is learnt.
Along with, amendment will be brought in for phasing out D
Pharm qualification and making degree in pharmacy (B Pharm) as basic
qualification for a pharmacist.
For ease of doing service, the council will change the PPR in
accordance with the requests made by the pharmacists of the state and central
services. The public sector dispensers have been demanding a patient-pharmacist
ratio of 100:1 for out patient (OP) ward and 75:1 for in-patient (IP) ward.
These norms of the PCI should be applicable in all the hospitals and in
dispensaries. In addition to this, all the IP wards should have separate
pharmacists to take care of pharmacy services.
PCI has decided to work out on amendment procedure on the
basis of a demand made by the All India State Government Pharmacists
Association (AISGPA), an umbrella organisation of state government pharmacists,
said its president B S Desai.
Sharing details with Pharmabiz, Desai said Dr B Suresh,
president of the PCI, has given assurance to the national organisation that the
PPR will be amended to bring in a clause to make the patient-pharmacist ratio
in a government hospital and in a dispensary as demanded by the pharmacists.
The next executive meeting of the Council will discuss the matter as a special
agenda and consider it for taking to the general council meeting.
Dr B Suresh was felicitated at the executive council meeting
of AISGPA in Bangalore on May 14. The council president wanted AISGPA to
prepare a statistical data of patient-pharmacists ratio in the hospitals of all
states and forward to the council secretary.
Desai said a wide-ranging discussion on the matter of phasing
out of Diploma in Pharmacy course was held in the meeting in the presence of
the PCI president. The council wants to uplift the professional status of the
Indian pharmacists into international level. Since majority of the pharmacists
in the public healthcare institutions in all the states are diploma holders,
the two-year bridge course, B Pharm (Practice), will be made mandatory in
another few years. An amendment in this regard will be brought in soon.
Those who want to go for higher studies, the council will
facilitate them with a post graduate course also, M Pharm (Practice). This is
also in the pipeline.
Janam Suresh, general secretary of AISGPA from Telengana said
the PCI has taken the issue of medicine prescribing right to nurses (mid-level
health workers) after a short period of training as proposed in the National
Medical Commission Bill, with the central government for amendment. He said the
council has agreed to do whatever required to stop the prescription right to be
given to nurses. Instead it should be made a part of service to the pharmacists.
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