Title 3. CRITICAL STUDY OF THE CODE OF PHARMACEUTICAL ETHICS DRAFTED BY PCI.pdf ✅

PHARMD GURU Page 1 INTRODUCTION: Ethics is a science which deals with the study of moral duties and is concerned with human conduct and character. It is a right or wrong human behavior. A code of ethics is a carefully formulated set of principles for the guidance of the particular group or members of the profession. Ethics is different from law in many respects. It can be differentiated from the law as given below: PHARMACEUTICAL CODE OF ETHICS: Code of pharmaceutical ethics is framed by Pharmacy Council of India for the pharmacists in India. It guides to the pharmacist regarding how to behave in the society i.e. with patient, public and his colleagues. The pharmacist is a vital link between the doctor and the patient. He is responsible to provide professional services of high order to the community at large by ensuring production of quality medicines and its sale, distribution to the consumers thereby safeguarding the health of the public. A code of pharmaceutical ethics is divided into the following parts: a) Pharmacist in relation to his job b) Pharmacist in relation to his trade CRITICAL STUDY OF THE CODE OF PHARMACEUTICAL ETHICS DRAFTED BY PCI
PHARMD GURU Page 2 c) Pharmacist in relation to medical profession d) Pharmacist in relation to his profession 1) PHARMACIST IN RELATION TO HIS JOB: a) SCOPE OF PHARMACEUTICAL SERVICES: Pharmacist who is engaged in hospital pharmacy should supply the medicines correctly and properly. He should supply the medicine efficiently without delay. More care should be taken during emergency supplies. b) CONDUCT OF PHARMACY: In a pharmacy section of hospital pharmacy, pharmacist prepares the medicine according to the prescription of physician. During compounding he should not make any errors as the medicines if dispensed wrongly may not give the necessary relief to the patient from disease. On the contrary, there may be some undesirable side effects. c) HANDLING OF PRESCRIPTION: As the prescriptions given by physicians are presented to pharmacists for dispensing, pharmacist is supposed to maintain its secrecy and should not make any comment on it. He should read it carefully and then decide what type of medication is required to prepare. No any addition, omission, or substitution of ingredients should be made without the consent of the prescriber. If there are some errors in doses he should not correct it himself, he should consult to physician. d) HANDLING OF DRUGS: In hospital pharmacy, the varieties of drugs are available and the chief pharmacist is responsible for handling of drugs. During compounding and dispensing, he should use standard quality drugs and weigh it accurately. He should take more care during handling of poisonous substances. e) APPRENTICE PHARMACIST: Every pharmacist has to undergo the practical training after completion of the academic training. Chief pharmacist should provide uniform practical training to all the new pharmacists.
PHARMD GURU Page 3 2) PHARMACIST IN RELATION TO HIS TRADE: a) PRICING OF DRUGS: Pricing of drugs and pharmaceuticals should be fair. The overcharging of the products should be avoided. A suitable price structure should be adopted for pricing of drugs. He should calculate the retail price of his formulation according to the formula prescribed under Drugs and Price Control Order. While calculating the price he should consider the material cost, packaging charges, cost of packaging material, etc. b) FAIR TRADE PRACTICE: Pharmacist should not make any attempt to capture the business of fellow pharmacist by cutthroat competitions that is by offering gifts or reducing prices to the patient, etc. Trademarks, signs and symbols of other pharmacist should not be copied. c) PURCHASE OF DRUGS: Pharmacist should purchase drugs of standard quality only. He should not purchase substandard quality, adulterated drugs or misbranded drugs. He should purchase drugs under cash or credit memo from a duly licensed manufacturers and dealers. d) HAWKING OF DRUGS: Hawking of drugs should be prohibited under the code of pharmaceutical ethics to prevent self medication and mismedication. e) ADVERTISING AND DISPLAY: Advertisement and display of drug should also be prohibited under the code of pharmaceutical ethics to prevent self medication and mismedication. Advertisements of drugs making a false claim or which gives misleading information about the drug should be prohibited.