The Prescription: Partnership For Safe Medicines India

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News Archive

EDITOR'S EMULSION

Pooja Khaitan

Greetings Aware citizens! Welcome once again to the current edition of PSM-India’s fortnightly e-newsletter “The Prescription”.
It has been a year since Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday last year (2nd October,2014) that Honourable Prime Minister of India launched the "Clean India Mission/ Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan" to highlight the lack of cleanliness and proper hygiene being one of the crucial issues that have been hindering India’s growth since years. Yet after a year passing by, we have not risen in our awareness towards social hygiene issues. Some of the issues barring Clean India dream include “open defecation”, “manual scavenging”, “lack of adequate waste disposal management” etc. By maintaining proper sanitation and hygiene outside our homes, over 50% of the disease health burden can be decreased and simultaneously consumption of medicines, clinical care, health care expenses may be reduced. Therefore, it’s time to work hard towards creating a Swasth and Swachh Bharat (Healthy and Clean India)!
Read More>>>

If you have any suggestions, comments or queries, please email me at pooja@jagograhakjago.com.
You may find our previous issues on jagograhakjago.com or in the NEWS ARCHIVE section of every issue of The PRESCRIPTION, in case you’ve missed any of them. You may also look us up on Facebook under Partnership for Safe Medicines India

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Happy Reading !
Stay Safe. Stay Healthy !

Pooja Khaitan
Chief Editor , The PRESCRIPTION Partnership for Safe Medicines India.

DOSE OF THE DAY

“ ‘Quality medicine with utmost all care possible' would be diluted, if internet sale of medicine is allowed by amending D&C Act 1940. Entry of internet selling of drug, bypassing physical pharmacies and distributors, would paralyze the entire distribution system, this may create a monopoly situation and feared that the major business of medicine would be controlled by a handful of people”.

Shri J S Shinde,
President of AIOCD

Exclusive Benefit for PSM India Readers

PSM India Capsules

All Stakeholders’ consultation and workshop at Varanasi

Patient Safety and Access initiative of India foundation (PSAIIF) joined hands with Government of India, Mata Anandmayeee Hospital Varanasi, Indian Medical Association (Banaras branch), Quality council of India, Delhi society for promotion of rational use of Drugs, Association of healthcare providers and Consumer Online foundation to organise an All Stakeholders’ Consultation and workshop on Access to Safe and Quality Healthcare. The event was held at the IMA building at Varanasi on 10th October,2015. A panel discussion was held with immenent personaiiites from the Health Ministry, Quality council of India and the Indian Medical Association to decide a way forward on the Varanasi pilot initiative 2015 that focused on Universal Health Coverage. Fruitful recommendations were put forth and accepted to build better Universal health coverage for Indians in the days to come. It was stressed during the consultation that reforms in the healthcare delivery system in India was the need of the hour and citizens must join the movement passionately whilst our governement must help in making stronger regulatory mechanisms in achieving Universal Health Coverage for all.

ONLINE PHARMACIES ; OFFLINE DISASTERS

With the growing e-commerce industry in India, healthcare could not have gone untouched. Our health sector comprises of a majority percentage of our population needs. This has been tapped by the significantly growing online pharmacies across the nation. These online pharmacies are basically internet based sellers of prescription medicines.

National Injections

Drug-testing: Government mulls laboratory in every state New Delhi, 3 Oct 2015: The government is planning a Rs 1,750-crore revamp of the Drug regulatory apparatus in the country to ensure that there is at least one functional drug testing laboratory in every state. Currently, 10 states have no testing laboratory of their own. These include West Bengal, which has a referral laboratory, but no place where drug samples lifted by state drug inspectors can be tested.

IPA demands permission for pharmacists to prescribe medicine for common ailments Mumbai, Oct 1, 2015: The Indian Pharmacist Association (IPA) has demanded to widen the opportunity for pharmacists by permitting them to prescribe medicine in primary healthcare as the role played by pharmacists’ remains stagnant in India. Recently the IPA has written to Prime Minister highlighting the issues related to pharmacists, urging him to give opportunities to registered pharmacists so that a large pool of qualified pharmacists who otherwise have very feeble opportunity in the health sector will have a brighter scope, in place of starting the proposed B.Sc. community health programme to serve the patients.

Dengue fever is more difficult to treat in patients with pre-existing lifestyle diseasesOct 3, 2015: Extra care must be taken in individuals who are suffering from pre-existing conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and obesity. The National Capital is witnessing chaos and disorder amid the present dengue outbreak. Fatalities are being recorded despite the best efforts of the medical fraternity to save lives. The primary reason for this is the spread of Type 4 dengue in the Capital at such a large scale for the first time. What complicates the situation is pre-existing lifestyle disorders that deter proper treatment and increase the severity of the symptoms.

Drug Laws & Policy Injections

MHRA signs deal with Indian regulator to boost public safetyOct 5, 2015: The UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency is linking hands with its counterpart in India in a move designed to boost public safety in both nations. A Memorandum of Understanding has been signed by the MHRA and India’s Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation, under which the parties plan to increase collaboration on medicines and medical devices and promote each other’s regulatory frameworks, requirements and processes.

DCGI sets up committee to examine label claims of products sold as multi-vitamins Mumbai, Oct 7, 2015: Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) has set up an expert committee to examine the validity of the claims made on the labels of some of the high profile vitamin supplements in the country for some years. The committee would evaluate the claims made on the ingredients of these products to help the consumer determine the intended therapeutic or prophylactic use of the products.

Union Health Minister launches phase-2 of Mission Indradhanush in 352 districts targeting full immunization Oct 4, 2015: Shri J P Nadda, Union Minister for Health & Family Welfare has assured all support to the states for achieving targets of full immunization under Mission Indradhanush. He exhorted them to leave no stone unturned to ensure that the left out and missed out children of the routine immunization program in the country are provided full protection under this nationwide initiative. “We aim to achieve more than 90% full immunization in the country by 2020 under Mission Indradhanush”. The Minister stated this while launching the second phase of the special initiative, here today.

Health ministry to introduce NAT test in government blood banks for safe platelet donation Mumbai, Oct 5, 2015: In order to ensure that platelet donations are safe and available at the point of care, State Health Ministry will soon introduce nucleic acid amplification testing (NAT) in government blood banks across the state to test candidates for safe platelet donation. This comes as a welcome change as a voluntary platelet donation drive for the city has recently been kick started at Tata Memorial Hospital (TMH) to bridge the demand-supply gap in platelets. The voluntary platelet donation drive will complement the first voluntary platelet donor registry started at TMH.

Health Ministry issues draft Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Bill Oct 3, 2015: The Union Health Ministry has issued the draft Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Bill, 2014 which aims at proper regulation and supervision of Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) clinics and banks in the country, and for prevention of misuse of this technology, including surrogacy, and for safe and ethical practice of ART services in the country.

Pharma Injections

Heart attack or acid reflux? How to differentiate the symptoms Sep 30, 2015: Most people mistakenly confuse chest pain to be because of acidity or acid reflux, a recent study conducted by Mumbai’s Sion Hospital has revealed. This is one of the main reasons why heart attacks continue to be one of the biggest killers in India. According to World Health Organisation, Cardiovascular diseases claim 17.5 million lives a year globally.

Philips to deploy MOM & Mobility Sanjeevini on pilot basis in India to stall maternal-foetal fatalities Bengaluru, Oct 1, 2015: Philips Innovation Centre (PIC) has now spurred the digital health space with its mobile obstetrical monitoring (MOM) and Mobility Sanjeevini solutions to stall maternal and foetal fatalities in India and other developing countries. Both these Android based technologies only need a smart phone to access expert medical consultation in resource-constrained healthcare settings.

New protein to help fight stress Oct 4, 2015: Scientists have discovered a protein that can help develop new strategies to treat the effects of stress on the body. The protein, called TRPV1, is found to be controlling the "fight or flight" response that we experience in stressful situations.In the mouse study, researchers found that TRPV1 controls the nerves that release noradrenaline and affect core body temperature.

Global Injections

Medicrime convention against counterfeit drugs to enter into force in 2016 Geneva, 1 Oct 2015: The ratification of an international convention to fight counterfeit of medical products by Guinea has unlocked the entry into force of the instrument, now set to happen on 1 January 2016.

New Antibiotic-Resistant 'Superbug' an Emerging Threat MONDAY Oct. 5, 2015, 2015 -- A relatively new antibiotic-resistant bacteria called CRE is making inroads in some major American cities, U.S. health officials report.

3D printed micro-needles to make drug delivery pain-freeOct 5, 2015: US researchers have developed a new technique to produce a 3D 'micro-printed' array of needles capable of delivering drug without causing any pain, thereby offering a potential alternative to painful injections.

Drug Dopes

List of Drugs, Medical Devices and Cosmetics declared as Not of Standard Quality/Spurious/Adulterated/Misbranded for the Month of September 2015

Aurobindo gets USFDA final nod for anti-psychotic tablets Oct 9, 2015: Aurobindo Pharma has received the final approval from the US health regulator FDA to manufacture and market generic Aripiprazole tablets used for treatment of psychotic conditions in the American market.

New 'sensitive' blood test can rule out heart attacks in one attempt Oct 8, 2015- London: Using a high-sensitivity blood test, researchers have identified the optimal level of a protein called troponin that could rule out a diagnosis of heart attack for two-thirds of people. A team of researchers has come up with a new heart attack test that can identify two-thirds of patients at very low risk of heart attack in the emergency department.

USFDA approves 'breakthrough' drug to fight lung cancer Oct 6, 2015: US authorities have approved a "breakthrough" drug to treat advanced non-small cell lung cancer, signalling a paradigm shift in the way the deadliest of all cancers is treated.

Upcoming Events

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PSM PILL

Don't risk your safety with medicines with unsafe sources

Medicine approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) comprehensive drug approval process are considered the safest in the world. The U.S.’s closed distribution system keeps medicine counterfeiters and fakers out of pharmacies and away from patients.

Owner of Kenwood Pharmacy sentenced to 10 Years in prison in misbranded drugs case

September 28, 2015: Michigan pharmacy owner and 18 of his employees face jail time for conspiracies that provided misbranded, returned, and out-of-date pharmaceuticals to nursing homes and adult foster care homes throughout the state.

Frequently Asked Questions Q1. What is meant by pacemaker?
Answer: A pacemaker is a small device that's placed in the chest or abdomen to help control abnormal heart rhythms. This device uses electrical pulses to prompt the heart to beat at a normal rate. The pacemaker can be the normal "natural" pacemaker of the heart or it can be an electronic device. The natural pacemaker of the heart is the sinus node (SA node), one of the major elements in the cardiac conduction system, the system that controls the heart rate by generating electrical impulses and conducting them throughout the muscle of the heart, stimulating the heart to contract and pump blood. Read More>>>

Q2. What is meant by Dialysis?
Answer: In medicine, Dialysis is a process for removing waste and excess water from the blood and is used primarily as an artificial replacement for lost kidney function in people with kidney failure. Dialysis may be used for those with an acute disturbance in kidney function or progressive but chronically worsening kidney function—a state known as chronic kidney disease . Indications for dialysis in the patient with acute kidney injury are summarized with the vowel acronym of "AEIOU". Read More>>>

Laughter Dose

Blog Addicts

Mr. Surinder Chaudhary, Pharma Executive tweets: Dear PSM, Good initiatives and actions! Wish you more success!

Mrs. Ananya Singh, Academician: The PSM-India group has taken a big step towards rejuvenating the dilapidated healthcare system of our country with all its social patient-consumer friendly activities!!

Dr. Neelam Sharma, Clinical Pharmacologist comments: Be a smart aware consumer with PSM India and stop getting cheated upon with fake medicines and online pharmacies! It’s time to remove corruption!

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Disclaimer : Our newsletter endeavors to compile patient safety information from various sources . PSM India may not be held responsible for any article published in The Prescription.