Nearly 8.5 lakh private medicine shops across the country will remain closed on Tuesday as a nationwide protest against the e-pharmacy regulations that the Central government is deliberating upon in support of online sale of drugs. Following a government public notice in April on e-portal, the association submitted a point-wise representation to the Health Ministry. Their biggest worry is a massive cut in profit margins with stiff competition from e-portals.
In the last three years, at least a dozen of e-pharmacy websites have come up, providing an option to upload a prescription that will be verified by a pharmacist and medicines delivered at the doorstep. Extra discounts over online purchases have also attracted buyers. According to the retail chemist shop owners, verification of drug quality in online retail is difficult and the sale of psychotropic substances will also increase…
