Patients are often forced to buy full medicine strips despite prescriptions for fewer doses, leading to avoidable expenses and wastage. While the Drugs Consultative Committee has urged exact-quantity dispensing, chemists cite regulatory and operational hurdles in cutting blister packs.
Four widely used Central Nervous System medications, including Zopiclone and Gabapentin, have been placed under Schedule H1 controls amid concerns over over-the-counter availability and off-label intoxication. Chemists will have to follow stricter prescription, record-keeping and warning-label requirements for these drugs.
