Attention Doctors: Now, You have to mention exact indication, reason, justification while prescribing antibiotics

New Delhi: Now all the doctors will have to mandatorily mention the indication, reason and justification while prescribing antibiotics to their patients. The directive issued to this effect comes against the backdrop of misuse and overuse of antimicrobials amongst the public.

Issuing a letter calling for mandatory practice to write indications while prescribing anti-microbials, Dr Atul Goel, Director General of Health Services operating under the Health Ministry highlighted the urgency of the matter and appealed to all the doctors as well as the pharmacists.

"It is an urgent appeal to all the doctors to make it a mandatory practice to write indication/reason/Justification while prescribing antimicrobials. Looking forward to your support the promote judicious use of antimicrobials to reduce emergence of AMR," Dr Goel stated in the letter.

Meanwhile, to all pharmacists in India, Dr Goel said under Drugs and Cosmetics Rules 1945, antibiotics are included in the list of drugs specified under Schedule H which are required to be sold by retail on the prescription of a Registered Medical Practitioner (RMP) only. Some high-end antibiotics are included in the list of HI drugs.

All pharmacists have been urged to “strictly implement Schedule H and H1 of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules and stop the over-the-counter sale of antibiotics and sell them only on the prescription of a qualified doctor.”

"While the pharmacists are being reminded to implement the schedule H and H1 of the Drugs and Cosmetic Rules and sell antibiotics only on valid prescriptions, it is important that doctors write the indication on the prescriptions while prescribing antimicrobials," the letter stated.

Shedding light on the growing issue of antibiotic resistance, Dr Goel mentioned in the letter, “Misuse and overuse of antimicrobials are one of the main drivers in the development of drug-resistant pathogens.”

"With few new antibiotics in the research and development pipeline, prudent antibiotic use is the only option to delay the development of resistance," he stated.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the top global public health threats facing humanity. It is estimated that bacterial AMR was directly responsible for 1.27 million global deaths in 2019 and 4,95 million deaths were associated with drug-resistant infections. AMR puts many of the gains of modern medicine at risk.

It threatens the effective prevention and treatment of infections caused by resistant microbes, resulting in prolonged illness and a greater risk of death. Treatment failures also lead to longer periods of infectivity and the prohibitive high cost of second-line drugs may result in failure to treat these diseases in many individuals.

According to the Health Ministry’s direction, the change must begin from the medical college itself. Emphasising the significance of medical colleges, Dr Goel said that medical colleges not only provide tertiary healthcare in the country but are also hubs for the education of the younger generation of doctors, so this makes it important that doctors at medical colleges set an example of the judicious use of antimicrobials for the next generation of doctors who will face crises in much more severe forms.

The official letter addressed to all the doctors and pharmacists is attached below: