Consumer rights activists write to health minister, say patients prefer online pharmacies

Consumer rights activists came together to give a hefty push to the case for online pharmacies on Wednesday, in the run up to a government sub-committee finalising its draft recommendations on the viability of the online model.

Running nine months behind time, the subcommittee, chaired by Maharashtra FDA Dr Harshdeep Kamble, is supposed to finally release its draft report on July 8.

Consumer Online Foundation undertook a survey on the medicine buying habits of consumers that, they claim, reveals a strong preference for a choice between online and offline pharmacies. "Consumers want to be able to choose between them, they want convenience," said Bejon Kumar Misra, a long-time consumer rights activist. Though he said they were not advocating online pharmacies, for the consumer's right to chose them, he said,

"Online pharmacies provide better alternative to offline pharmacies as they are not only more compliant to the law, but also provide host of other benefits."

In a letter addressed to the Union health minister JP Nadda, Mishra wrote "61 per cent of the Indian consumers prefer to purchase medicines online as they perceive better accessibility and choice compared to the cartelised distribution chain existing in the country."

He also asked for a stronger law than the existing Drugs and Cosmetics Act to regulate all manner of pharmacies and healthcare delivery services.

The survey, with 4,600 participants, also showed 50 per cent people buy medicines without prescription, 48 per cent said they had to visit multiple pharmacies to get medicines, 76 per cent said that a single store or website would "suffice their medicinal requirements."

"We want the government to come up with an enabling guideline and we're optimistic about the draft," said Prashant Tandon, CEO of online pharmacy 1mg and president of the Indian Internet Pharmacy Association, to dna.

The Association, which did not take part in the survey, was formed last October when 8.5 lakh chemists under the umbrella of All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD) went on strike protesting e-pharmacies.

"The question is not one of online vs offline," said Tandon, "but whether the model is viable under Indian laws."

The web platform of a legitimate online pharmacy, one that is based in India, is covered by the IT Act and the offline vendor partner, where the prescription is sent, is under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act. This is the case the e-pharmacies put forward before the committee. They think their argument went well, as Tandon says AIOCD has already threatened strikes.

The subcommittee was constituted on July 22, 2015, with a mandate to submit a report on how viable on the online model of selling medicines was in three months.