Hyderabad: The digitalisation, real-time monitoring and reporting of high-risk Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) is soon going to address the critical issue of substance abuse, diversion of life-saving drugs to the grey markets and their duplication.
According to a report published in Telangana Today, the proposal to have a real-time online portal to track these drugs, which include anti-cancer, anti-microbial, pain-killers, sedatives, vaccines and other psychotropic substances, will soon be operationalised.
The report states that the Central Drugs Standards Control Organization (CDSCO) has already given a go-ahead for the digital initiative.
From the manufacturing of those drugs till their delivery at the medical shops, a seamless supply-chain is being integrated into the national online portal, which will not only enable the Telangana Drugs Control Administration (TGDCA) to effectively prevent any pilferage of these drugs, but will also act as a check on the medical shops from where these drugs risk being sold without a valid prescription.
The medical shops and hospitals have already been instructed to upgrade their digital infrastructure to facilitate the real-time monitoring of these drugs, which will now come with Quick Response (QR) codes.
The medical shops are required to transition from record-keeping for periodic verification to the new real-time reporting system, and when a sale is made, it will also enable them to maintain a better inventory of their stocks.
