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The Karnataka State Registered Pharmacists' Organisation (KSRPO) has alerted the state FDA and the government about the sale of spurious drugs by fake doctors at their illegal clinics. These quack doctors are seen to have expiry dated drugs and physician samples which are prescribed to patients.
This, according to KSRPO president Ashokswamy Heroor, calls for the need that state FDA's Drugs Enforcement Wing along with the State health department should keep a close and continuous watch on clinics operated by fake or unqualified doctors.
As per estimates in the public domain reported by a media house, "Karnataka's health department traced and took action against at least 967 quacks or fake doctors between September 2023 and January 2025. This number represents individuals identified and acted upon during a specific crackdown period, not the total number of fake doctors operating in the state overall."
"We have found that there are a large number of fake doctors found to be engaged in the sale of spurious drugs. Even as the health and family welfare department has issued circulars and constituted special task forces at the district level to identify, inspect, and prosecute fake doctors and unregistered medical establishments, the business of bogus medical; practitioners is rampant and the sale of spurious drug is on the rise, Heroor said.
In his communication to the state government, Heroor said that regular inspections and surveillance should be conducted to identify such illegal practices and strict action must be taken against those found operating without valid drug license even as their medical qualifications or licenses are questionable. Coordination with local state health authorities and law-enforcement agencies should also be strengthened to detect, investigate, and shut down such pharmacy outlets and clinics, in order to safeguard public health and prevent the misuse or illegal sale of medicines.
Appropriate action should be taken against those operating without valid pharmacy trade license and not having genuine medical practitioner qualifications. We have observed several instances where the Drugs Control Department has carried out crackdowns and seized medicines from numerous fake doctors operating illegally which is commendable. It is laudable that Drugs Control department officers have attached fake doctors hospitals, seized allopathic drugs, and filed the cases in the court of law. However, they are not raising complaints against fake doctors at police stations, added Heroor.
If the general public can complain to the police about fake doctors, then enforcement officers of the drug control department can also complain to the police. Some officials having the opinion that the medical practice of counterfeiting is unrelated to their purview of work, said Heroor.
Our observation is that fake doctors are setting up pharmacy outlets and dispensing medicines on the prescription of the quacks. This is even as the reality shows that thousands of pharmacy outlets manned by genuine qualified and registered pharmacists are seen struggling to maintain the expenses of their medical store operations, said Heroor adding that there is need for close and constant surveillance on such illegal operations.
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