New Delhi, September 3: With the perspective of ensuring proper accessibility of drugs to the people through online registration of medicines, the Union Ministry of Health has regulated a draft for e-pharmacies. The Union Health Ministry has released the draft rules on sale of drugs by e-pharmacies with an aim to regulate online sale of medicines across the country. It aims at providing patients access to genuine drugs from authentic online portals.
The new draft rules require online pharmacies to be registered with the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) and obtain a trade license which is applicable across India from any state government. As per the estimates, the total e-pharma industry is less than 0.5% of the retail pharmacy landscape currently but is growing at more than 100% rate.
“Any person who intends to conduct the business of e-pharmacy shall apply for the grant of registration to the Central Licensing Authority through the online portal of the Central Government,” reads the notification.
The drugs sold online would need a prescription and the pharmacy will have to maintain a detailed record. However, there should be strict confidentiality and no patient information should be leaked domestically or internationally. There should also be a facility for customer support and grievance redressal.
The draft rules also ban the sale of narcotics, psychotropic drugs, and tranquilizers. The ministry decided to make amendments to the Drugs and Cosmetic Rules, 1945, to include e-pharmacies as with the growing e-commerce in India, online pharmacies have also been becoming popular in India.