Pharma D can now use DR prefix, Doctors cry foul

The Council wrote to the government universities all over the country to add the prefix to the names in the certificates of those students who completed their degrees in Pharm D. Majority of the private universities added the prefix ‘Dr’ before the degree as per the direction of the PCI, but few government colleges showed unwillingness to add the prefix.

Dispensing medications by compounding, packaging, and labelling pharmaceuticals is one of the jobs of a pharmacist, it will only be confusing for patients when they see the doctor title with the pharmacist.

The council had earlier intimated its decision to all the universities approved by the PCI under section 12 (2) of the Pharmacy Act 1948 to conduct examinations for Pharm D to use the prefix Dr before the names of passed out students while awarding certificates under Regulation 18 of the Pharm D Regulations 2008.

As universities in the state were not issuing degrees with ‘Dr’ prefix till now, members of Doctor of Pharmacy Association of Maharashtra had approached the PCI for a clarification.

Vinayak Bhagwat Ghayal, president of Doctor of Pharmacy Association, Maharashtra told the TOI, “We have been pursuing this issue from the last two years. When university authorities told us that they don’t have written directives from the PCI regarding the ‘Dr’ prefix, we wrote to PCI. On May 24, the PCI issued a letter in this regard.”

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A Pharm D student told the daily, “There are several pharma related courses right from diploma (D Pharm) to PG degree (M Pharm) in India. But the Pharm D is the biggest as it includes five years of study and one year of internship or residency. The ‘Dr’ prefix will differentiate us from the other pharma degree holders. We will get our due recognition in the job market.”

Doctors, however, pointed out that a "Dr" tag to pharmacists will only create confusion with patients now thinking that a pharmacist may be approached for prescriptions as well. " Doctors prescribe and pharmacists dispense. The demarcation is currently clear. Allowing the prefix "dr" to pharmacists is bound to create confusion in the minds of gullible patients who might begin asking the pharmacists for medical advice and prescriptions. " Dr Arvind Chopra, Delhi Medical Association told Medical Dialogues

"There are long term allegations that many pharmacists, having little knowledge to dispense the medicine also attempt at prescribing the medicine and now if the differentiation between prescription and dispensing is lost, This would further propagate the menace of quackery, " he added