NEW DELHI: Buying prescription medicines from a medical store could soon be recorded on CCTV, with the footage required to be kept for at least three months, under a draft amendment to the Drugs Rules, 1945, proposed by Union health ministry.

With this, regulators will be able to check transactions when concerns are raised.For patients, this could mean an additional safeguard against medicines sold without prescriptions or accessed via illegal channels.The move is aimed at better oversight of Schedule H, H1 and X drugs, which include medicines that cannot be sold without valid prescription. Except wholesale dealing, all drug will be supplied under CCTV system at the licensed premises.The proposal was first considered by Drugs Consultative Committee and was then circulated to Drugs Technical Advisory Board.The board recommended approval of the proposal, according to the health ministry. The draft says the rule will come into force from a date specified by govt when the amendment is finally published in the Official Gazette. The ministry has invited objections and suggestions from stakeholders and the public.

Responding to the proposal, J S Shinde, president, All India Organisation of Chemists & Druggists, said, “Making CCTV surveillance mandatory at every medical store could cost small and medium chemists Rs 50,000-1 lakh or more, apart from ongoing maintenance. A uniform requirement is particularly difficult to implement in rural areas with unreliable power and internet connectivity. Govt should consider a practical and proportionate approach.

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