DOI: 10.36347/sjahss.2017.v05i11.023

Pages: 1710-1718

Medicines are one of the most essential necessities today right along with food, clothing and shelter. The pharmaceutical industry is one of the most influential industries of India today as because the products of this sector is critical to the common people. The absence of medications can be even fatal to the patients so there is a huge potential in the market for this segment of products. Medications can be classified broadly under Over the Counter Drugs and Prescription drugs. Over the Counter drugs are generally obtained by the patients without a doctor’s prescription. As for Prescription Drugs, as per the namesake, these medications can only be obtained by the patients with a doctor’s prescription. So, it can be safely assumed that the therapeutic index of the Over the Counter Drugs is higher than that of Prescription drugs. This, in turn, reduces the chances of prominent side effects that might prove to be fatal for the patients and because of this reason they are sold without consulting a doctor previously. These medications are used mainly in case of very common diseases like common flu, dysentery, inflammation due to an injury, etc. This paper delves into the present pharmaceutical Over the Counter (OTC) Drugs market and tries to point out the factors that directly or indirectly influence the market. The segmented market that has been taken under consideration is the rural market as because the majority of the Indian population resides in the rural parts of India. However, the healthcare infrastructure is quite underdeveloped in the rural regions and the people solely depend on these OTC drugs for their therapy. The findings emphasizes the role and impact of doctors, patients, pharmacists and present economic scenario related issues on various OTC drugs in pharmaceutical sector of rural West Bengal. This paper also helps to pinpoint the industrial and societal implications.