eINDIA 2015 – Dr Akun Sabharwal, Director Drugs Control Administration, Government of Telangana

• 22-12-2015 07:57:26
• e-governance

Telengana has 490 big manufactures and around 28,000 pharmaceutical shops. We have shifted to online licensing. It might appear strange to the IT world, but most of the pharmaceutical regulations still happen on paper and pen. We have also done flow charting and time-lining. In Telengana, now we assure that if you want to set up an industry, we will give you the licence in 30 days. There is also a penalty clause – if the file is stuck at any level, there is a penalty of Rs 1,250 per day beyond 30 days, so the employee concerned has to pay from his pocket. We achieve it through barcoding and file tracking system. The entire process is on website now for manufacturers and pharmacy shops. Across the country regulations happens in terms of areas, we have shifted from that approach to something called the verticals. We have specialised teams looking after cosmetics, vaccines etc. The US is the only other country that does it.

Better technology infrastructure is the first and foremost thing to be kept in mind before talking about providing better healthcare services in remote areas. It’s only after that technology-driven healthcare initiatives, like teleopthalmology for treatment of eyes and telemedicine, can be thought of. And, the session lay due emphasis on the infrastructure aspect. Mobile-based monitoring of mother and child in Chhattisgarh was talked about by Dr Ayyaj Fakirbhai Tamboli, Director, National Health Mission, Government of Chhattisgarh. Facilities like GIS mapping to locate the nearest health facility were listened to by the audience with rapt attention. Apart from that, Dr Akun Sabharwal from the Drugs Control Administration shed light on online licensing, which points to the efficient use of technology.