A union of more than 15,000 pharmacists across India has requested the Indian insurance regulator, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) to include pharmacists in the list of professionals eligible for professional indemnity insurance.
According to media reports the pharmacists have requested IRDAI to consider this matter on a urgent priority basis and include pharmacists in the list of professionals eligible for professional indemnity insurance as soon as possible.
Offline chemists want to protect the local pharmacists from legal actions taken due to mistakes such as medication errors, incorrect dispensing, adverse drug reactions and other related complaints.
These pharmacists work in the retail sector (such as chemist shops), hospitals and clinical pharmacists across the country. The move has been supported by the largest Indian lobby of offline pharmacists with over 12,00,000 members.
Data from the insurers reveals that amidst the rising risk of litigation, doctors are also buying professional indemnity insurance. The demand for professional indemnity insurance has surged by around 150 X by the doctors in the last five years.
According to a 2016 survey by the National Law University, Bengaluru, there has been a 400% increase in claims linked to medical negligence submitted in consumer courts. Although only 10% to 15% of instances were legitimate, with physicians being convicted, the remaining 85% of medical workers were allowed to defend themselves.