Doctors should prescribe antibiotics with indications, justifications to prevent antimicrobial resistance, say Chennai Pharmacists

CHENNAI: Even after the Union Health Ministry urged the doctors to mandatorily mention the justification for prescribing antibiotics towards prevention of antimicrobial resistance, there has not been any major changes towards it as pharmacists say that prescriptions do not have the indications and reason for prescription of the drugs.

Earlier this year, doctors in all medical colleges and hospitals were instructed to make it a mandatory practice to mention indication, reason for justification while prescribing antibiotics. However, majority of the prescriptions landing in pharmacies are without any such details.

"We are told to not sell the antibiotics without prescription and to give it only as per a detailed prescription, however, the prescription does not contain any reasons for prescription of antibiotics. If we ask for details, the customers start arguing with us. Some even demand the most common antibiotics such as Amoxicillin and Azithromycin without a prescription, " said Bala Kumar, a pharmacist in the city.

Another pharmacist in Adyar, Nataraj, says that they have to advise the customers on indications for taking the medicines since most of these customers are not aware of the risk of incomplete dose and overuse of antibiotics.

In order to prevent the overuse of antibiotics and to reduce the growing incidence of antimicrobial resistance, the Director General of Health Services had also appealed to all pharmacists to strictly implement schedule H and H1 of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules and stop over-the-counter sale of antibiotics and sell them only on the prescription of a qualified doctor.

"We are following the practice of selling drugs only as per prescription but even the doctors should clearly state the course of the medicine and proper indication as most of them do not complete the dosage and even use it later. Some of the customers ask for only the partial dosage which again causes antimicrobial resistance and is responsible for deaths too, " said A Ramachandran, a pharmacist and former secretary of Tamil Nadu Druggists and Chemists Association.