Andhra Pradesh soon to link Aadhaar with doctors and pharmacies to weed out ‘self-medication’ and ‘fake doctors’

Amravati, November 15: Andhra Pradesh will soon be linking Aadhaar with doctors and pharmacies with an aim to bid to root out ‘self-medication’ and fake ‘doctors’. The state will come up with Comprehensive Drug Monitoring System (CDMS).

The move comes even as the Constitution bench of the Supreme Court is set to hear a number of petitions challenging mandatory linking of the unique identification number with bank accounts and mobile phone numbers. The state government will be creating an online health record of citizens.

According to the report, the state is set to roll out the Comprehensive Drug Monitoring System (CDMS). All registered doctors will have to use the CDMS app in order to generate an e-prescription that mentions the patient’s name, mobile number or Aadhaar number along with the prescribed medicines and the medicine manufacturer’s name.

How does the CDMS work?

Once the doctor makes a digital signature on the app, the patient will receive a One Time Password on their mobile phone. The patient will have to show at the pharmacy in order to buy the prescribed medicines. The pharmacist will be able to see the prescription only when he/she enters the OTP.

According to the government, the application and linking of Aadhaar numbers will stop unlicensed doctors and pharmacists. Only doctors registered with the Medical Council of India’s AP chapter and pharmacists registered with the Pharmacists’ Council will be able to access the application.