Schedule H1_ will it heal the problem of antibiotic resistance???

Antibiotics resistance has been found as a major threat for healthcare in India. The reasons behind are the improper use of antibiotics, self medication and improper practices of chemists and Doctors in dispensing and prescribing medicines, respectively. In order to curb these practices Indian Government has introduced H1 schedule, which insists on proper distribution of anti-biotics and other habit forming drugs. This survey is to find out the success rate of implementation of H1 schedule and the challenges faced by chemists in following the orders. It also finds out the awareness level of public on Schedule H1.

A structured questionnaire separately for patients & chemists were framed and the survey was done for 76 retail counters in and around Ahmedabad and 140 patients in Ahmedabad. Questions consists of likert scale and multiple choice questions. The results were analysed using Microsoft excel.

It was found that chemists are not happy with H1 schedule, as it affects their profit and leads to lot of workload. 60% of the patients, who were surveyed, said that they do not know about H1 Schedule. Though, H1 schedule is an excellent move taken by the Government, it lacks real interest and commitment in following the outcome and to educate public among the upcoming health hazard. To make healthcare really affordable, the Government need to take some stringent steps in dispensing the medicines properly. Though educating public and launching Government dispensaries would be a suitable solution for this issue, Government has to the analyse the pros and cons of these decisions before implementation.

This research work leaves a thought to all authorities concerned to search for a better alternative for making healthcare affordable.

This is a current issue and there is no research done on understanding the feasibility and difficulties faced by chemists in implementing Schedule H1. This research also analyzed the awareness level of public on Schedule H1. New amendments make only little changes in the society and further researches are needed to analyze the feasibility of various models in healthcare assurance.