Pharma D holders can prefix Dr, govt clarifies in RS

Nagpur: Minister of state for health and family welfare Ashwini Kumar Choubey, in reply to a question raised in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, said that Pharma D degree holders are entitled to use Dr prefix as per law as they spend a significant time in hospitals during their six-year degree course. However, they will be considered as clinical pharmacists and not medical doctors following the global standards.

“Pharma D course is of six years duration. Every student is posted in hospital for 50 hours in each of the second, third and fourth year of the course. In the fifth year, there is a ‘clerkship’ where the student is required to daily attend the ward-round half a day. In the sixth year, a student undergoes internship in a 300-bed hospital,” stated the response given by Choubey on a starred question raised by V Vijaysai Reddy, Rajya Sabha member of YSR Congress Party from Andhra Pradesh.

“The Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) has been receiving demands for recognizing Pharma D equal to clinical pharmacists. In 2012, the PCI directed the universities to use ‘Doctor of Pharmacy’ in the provisional as well as final degree pass certificates in respect of students passing Pharma D (Doctor of Pharmacy) course and to Dr prefix before the names of such students,” the minister stated.

Office bearers of Pharma D Association have claimed that the answer is a clear clarification from the government on the Dr prefix row. “We have been following this issue on all platforms from the last three years. The health ministry has finally given a clear go ahead for us to use the Dr prefix. Recently, we had meetings with members of academic councils of various universities. Most universities have agreed to issue certificates with Dr prefix to all of us,” said Vinayak Ghayal, president of Doctor of Pharmacy Association of Maharashtra.

Ghayal claimed that the universities were seeking directives by University Grants Commission (UGC) for Dr prefix. “But UGC Act clearly states that the universities must adhere to the approved nomenclature of the degree as prescribed by the regulatory bodies concerned. Pharmacy Council of India is the regulatory body of pharma education across the country. The same has been recognized in the reply of health minister in parliament now,” he said.

In advanced countries like USA, Australia, Canada, UK etc, Pharma D graduates work as clinical pharmacists and use Dr prefix. They will follow the similar work pattern in India.

Meanwhile, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) will continue to oppose the move. IMA national President Dr Santanu Sen, who is also a Rajya Sabha member of the TMC, confirmed it to TOI that the association is firm on its stand that pharmacists should be called pharmacists only and their entitlement should be different.