Use of Opoids in De- addiction Centers: CMO Jmu orders contravenes committee’s recommendation

Jammu: Though Chief Medical Officer, CMO, Jammu on Friday ordered installation of PoS device and maintenance of digital records of patients in de addiction centers in Jammu district, the same has been seen as gross contravention in regard to recommendation of expert committee regarding incorporation of Aadhar based biometric record of the patient.
The five member expert committee comprised of State Drug Controller Drug and Food Control Organization,J&K, Chief Medical Officer ,Medical Officer,Medical Superintendent Psychiatric Disease Hospital GMC Jammu and HoD Department of Psychiatry Jammu held a meeting in the office of the Department of Psychiatry GMC Jammu in the year 2022 on the complaints of unregulated sale of Buprenorphine (opoid), a banned drug.
Pertinently, use of opoid including heroin and Buprenorphine has great impact on the health of the human beings.
The minutes of the meeting, copy of with TNN read as, “The patient to whom the treatment is being provided should be first registered in a Clinical facility (clinic, hospital, de-addiction centre, etc.). It should have a system of some unique identification number (UID) by which the registered patients can be linked with acomputerized database and his Aadhar number or Mobile number must be linked to UID. An online Portal should be designed wherein all Buprenorphine dispensing clinics should be brought on one platform so that same patient does not get Opoid medication from multiple sources. The exact total number of Buprenorphine tablets dispensed must be documented in (a) patient's treatment card, (b) patient's case file and (c) dispensing records maintained at the clinical facility.
The Buprenorphine tablets should be dispensed only by the authorized personnel. These may include doctor, pharmacist or nursing staff, compounder, etc. in the same premises where the prescription is made, ideally in the same or adjacent room or close to it as possible. In case the patient asks for a longer take-home dose, the doctor must be convinced about the genuineness and unavoidability of the situation”.
Meanwhile, intentionally or unintentionally the CMO Jammu did not mention the use of unique identification number (UID) of the registered patients nor did he mention his Aadhar number or Mobile number which must be linked to UID.
His order which raised eyebrows of many read as, “It is impressed upon all the owners and person in charge of provisionally registered Drug De-addiction and Psychiatry OPD clinics to mandatorily install PoS device. The psychotropic drugs including FDC Buprenorphine+Naloxone and Tapentadol should be dispensed through biometrics of the patient and also digitally maintain records of patients and medicines/drugs received, dispensed and in stock and share weekly with this office”.