A nationwide strike by medical shops keep on going on Wednesday, after pharmacy trade groups protested against the sale of medicines through online pharmacy platforms. The strike came after a call, made by associations like the All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD) and the Telangana Chemists and Druggists Association (TTCDA) .
This shutdown has hit pharmacy services in several states, including Telangana. Thousands of medical shops stayed closed through the protest ,so routine access got really shaky for many people.
The effect of the medical shops strike in Telangana was quite big. More than 25,000 pharmacies across the state remained locked shut. In Hyderabad alone, around 12,000 medical stores didn’t open for business, even though people were looking for prescriptions.
With the protest going on, there was a clear worry about medicine access, particularly for patients who rely on daily prescriptions, or urgently need emergency drugs.
Pharmacy trade bodies organised the strike mainly to resist the growing footprint of online pharmacies, that people also call e-pharmacies. The groups say that selling medicines this way may disturb the usual pharmacy model and also create doubts around medicine oversight and patient safety.
So the shutdown was basically intended to highlight those concerns, and push for stronger rules for online medicine sales, or at least tighter control on it.
To limit public trouble during the strike, Telangana Health Minister Damodar Raja Narasimha told health officials to take preventive action.
The Medical and Health Department was told to keep pharmacies at all government hospitals open for 24 hours on Wednesday. This instruction covered Primary Health Centers (PHCs) and Basti Dawakhanas across the state ,even with the general strike happening.
The government focused on keeping access to essential medicines going, not stopping even when the protest happened. In a way, they were trying to make sure nobody got left out.
The Director General of the State Drug Control Administration (DCA) mentioned that emergency arrangements were already set up.
Officials said they had taken enough measures to keep the supply of urgent medicines steady, especially during the medical shops strike. The authorities also reached out to big corporate pharmacy chains like Apollo Pharmacy and MedPlus and asked them to keep working.
All these things were meant to limit shortages and to back patients who needed urgent treatment.
The Telangana government also told the public to use a toll-free helpline, if support for emergency medicines was needed.
People who were finding it hard to get medicines were told to call 1800-599-6969, for help during the strike period.
The helpline was brought in, so residents could get essential medicines quicker, without unnecessary delay.
