Though chemists in Jammu city and major towns of Jammu region ask for prescription notes of doctors before selling medicines to customers and also give them cash receipts for the medicines they purchase but chemists in Kashmir are yet develop such a customer friendly trading practice in Kashmir Valley.
Though selling medicines without cash receipts and prescription notes of doctors is a bigger health risk but unfortunately the Drug Control Department in Kashmir falling under the administrative jurisdiction of Secretary Health & Medical Education allows such a highly irresponsible bad trading practice to go unnoticed at drug outlets across Kashmir Valley. Unfortunately even the drug outlets functioning from the premises of both Government and Private hospitals sell medicines without cash receipts and prescription notes of doctors but the drug control department does not seek explanations even from such chemists both in urban centres and as well as rural areas of Kashmir valley. Though chemists in Jammu city and major towns of Jammu region ask for prescription notes of doctors before selling medicines to customers and also give them cash receipts for the medicines they purchase but chemists in Kashmir are yet develop such a customer friendly trading practice in Kashmir Valley. Knowing that selling medicines without cash receipts and prescription notes of doctors not only shows the increasing trend of selling medicines at exorbitant rates at drug outlets in Kashmir Valley but it also shows increasing trend of self medication developing fast among the people across Kashmir, the Drug Control Department should have carried out an intensive drive against chemists across Kashmir. Though doctors day in and day out ask patients to desist from the bad trend of self medication but it is an irrefutable fact that trends of self medication can’t be reversed unless and until the Drug Control Department does not penalise the chemists for selling medicines without prescription notes of doctors and cash receipts.
“Once Drug Control Department make it mandatory for the chemists to cash receipts to customer, the correctness of the medicines sold to patients can be ensured. May be some unscrupulous chemists try to palm off spurious and expired drug but cash receipts will prevent such mischief as well and never forget that cash receipt is proof of purchase for a consumer in case something goes wrong”.
Chemists once penalized for selling medicines without prescription notes of doctors and cash receipts to customer they will stop selling medicines without prescription notes of doctors and bill to the customers. Though doctors both in Kashmir Valley and as well as Jammu division show a sense of patient care by asking the patients to be extra cautious while buying medicines and make sure that they don’t use the prescribed medicines before showing it to them as chemist dispenses the right medication in such cases but such practices take practical in very rarest of the rare case due to non seriousness shown by both the patients and as well as the chemists. Instances of chemists misreading a prescriptions and patients not reporting to doctors with the medicines they prescribe are also very high at drug outlets in Kashmir Valley. Experiences have also shown that patients prescribed a drug for hypertension are given a medicine for epilepsy at drug outlets in Kashmir and that too on exorbitant rates. Every chemist has to give a bill, giving details of the medicine. Once Drug Control Department make it mandatory for the chemists to cash receipts to customer, the correctness of the medicines sold to patients can be ensured. May be some unscrupulous chemists try to palm off spurious and expired drug but cash receipts will prevent such mischief as well and never forget that cash receipt is proof of purchase for a consumer in case something goes wrong.
