New Delhi: In a bid to check the widespread abuse of antibiotics, India's drug regulator, Drugs Controller General of India (DGCI), has proposed a new rule that will make it difficult for patients to self-medicate.
Doctors will now have to write prescriptions for antibiotics in duplicate. One copy will have to be retained by the chemist for a year, from the date of sale, for verification and audit.
Violations will be punished with a Rs 20,000 fine and upto 2 years imprisonment. Committees will also be set up in hospitals to ensure that there is no misuse of antibiotics.
The DGCI was forced to act after the discovery of the new superbug New Delhi super bug-1, resistant to the most powerful antibiotics. The proposal has now been sent to the Union Health Ministry for approval.
Government is also likely to come out with a comprehensive policy by next month on the use of antibiotics which include setting up of a task force and involvement of NGOs for enforcement of regulations.
A 13-member expert panel was set up last month to lay down the policy and ways to implement it after the recent "New Delhi super bug" controversy in which some researchers claimed that a superbug was found in India which was resistant strongest antibiotics.
Official says antibiotics will also be classified into three categories -- non-restricted, restricted and very restricted use.
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