The Bihar government has stepped up efforts to start 22 pharmacy colleges to tide over the shortage of pharmacists which has been hampering the operation of retail drug stores in the state.
“We are taking steps to increase the number of pharmacy colleges in the state.
The list of 22 pharmacy colleges will soon be released by the state government.
As of now, the government has given approval to only two pharmacy colleges,” said state health minister Mangal Pandey while addressing a delegation of Bihar Chemists and Druggists Association (BCDA).
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“We are not against recruitment of pharmacists at retail drug stores but there are not adequate pharmacists to appoint at medical shops.
Shortage of pharmacits
There are just 7,500 pharmacists in the state as against 35,000 drug retailers. There are four pharmacy colleges in the state churning out 240 pharmacists every year.
The huge shortage of pharmacists in the state has taken its toll on the operation of the retail drug stores said BCDA president Parsan Kumar Singh.
The government also had issued guidelines on inspection of drug stores on March 29, 2019. The guidelines specified the size of board on medical shops, billing procedure, maintenance of medical shops etc.
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Throwing light on consensus reached between the health ministry and BCDA to resolve challenges faced by chemists, BCDA president said guidelines on inspection of drug stores will be simplified within a week.
Chemists will be given time to comply with guidelines if they were found not to have complied with the requirement of guidelines during inspection.
A training programme will be conducted to educate chemists on guidelines to ensure their compliance.
