In a bid to ensure the genuinity of medicines and tackle the issue of counterfeit drugs, consumers in India will soon have the option to verify the authenticity of their medicines by scanning a QR code placed on the packaging.
Implementation Of The QR Code For Checking If Your Medicines Are Genuine:
Starting Tuesday, the top-selling 300 medicine brands, including well-known names like Shelcal, Calpol, Dolo, Allegra, and Meftal Spas, will carry QR or bar codes to verify their authenticity in its first phase. The new stock with bar codes will hit the market within a week to the next 15 days, depending on the sales and new inventory cycle in chemist shops.
Earlier, the media reported about the government’s plan to introduce QR codes on top-selling medicines during September, but it has been fast-tracked for early implementation.
The best part about this system is that users don’t need to download any application on their phone to access this information. It’s as simple as scanning a restaurant menu – one can just scan the QR code on the drug packaging.
When scanned, if the provided link fails to retrieve details of the drugs or brings out mismatched information from the packaging, it indicates that the drug might be a fake or counterfeit product. In such cases, the consumer can inform the manufacturer of the product by writing to the email ID or calling the customer care number provided on the drug packet.
How Does This Help?
This move from the government aims to weed out substandard and counterfeit medicines from the system. The initiative has been designed by the Department of Pharmaceuticals and will be enforced by India’s apex drug regulatory body, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO).
This step holds great significance as it will help in eliminating the challenge of counterfeit products or fake medicines being sold in India. According to an earlier estimate by the World Health Organization (WHO), around 35 percent of fake drugs sold globally come from India.
The government is also planning for strict implementation of barcodes or QR codes on other popular drugs, including antibiotics, cardiac drugs, painkillers, anti-diabetics, and anti-allergic medicines. The QR code will enable tracking and tracing the entire journey of the medicine, starting from its name to the place of origin.
The information presented through the QR code will include unique product identification code, branded and generic name of the drug, name and address of the manufacturer, batch number, date of manufacturing, date of expiry, and manufacturing license number.
Currently, it is mandatory to print or affix QR codes on the 300 brands of drug formulations. However, any manufacturer willing to voluntarily affix a code for any other brand is free to do so. This move is expected to enhance consumer confidence and promote the sale of genuine and safe medicines in the country.
