BHUBANESWAR: Concerned over the rampant practice of administering injections to patients at medicine stores, the state government on Tuesday issued a directive warning the chemists and druggists of stringent action against such activities.
The Health and Family Welfare department has asked all chief district medical officers (CDMOs) and the directorate of Drugs Control to monitor the activities of the medicine stores in this regard and report on the unethical practice.
The directive came following allegations of unauthorised medical practices at pharmacies, which could pose serious health risks. In an official communication, the State health department emphasised that only trained healthcare professionals in properly equipped medical facilities should administer injections.
A senior health official said this direction aims at ensuring patient safety by restricting injection administration to facilities equipped to handle adverse reactions.
“The administration of injections requires medical expertise and monitoring to prevent adverse reactions. Patients receiving injections at unregulated set ups like medicine stores are at risk of complications that may not be managed in time,” he said.
The government has directed all district health authorities to conduct inspections and take strict action against violators. Pharmacies have been advised to restrict their role to dispensing medicines as per prescriptions and to guide patients to licensed healthcare providers for injectable treatments.
There were allegations that pharmacists and salesmen at the medicine stores without proper training and having facilities to manage adverse reactions had been administering injections at a price whenever people request them.
Health experts have welcomed the decision, stressing that injections, particularly antibiotics and vaccines, can cause allergic reactions or anaphylactic shocks, necessitating immediate medical intervention.
The state had reported the death of two persons, including a six-year-old boy due to unauthorised administration of injections at medicine stores in the past. The boy, who was suffering from diarrhoea, was administered two injections without any doctor’s prescription. The boy fell unconscious at the store and doctors declared him dead at the district headquarters hospital.
In 2020, a 27-year-old man died after being administered diclofenac painkiller injection at a medicine store in Dhenkanal district. Police had sealed the store.