Alert FDA if a pharmacy refuses your old notes

There have been complaints of private medical stores refusing the banned notes

You can now alert the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) if a private pharmacy refuses to accept notes of banned Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 denominations. Based on a rash of complaints that many medical stores are refusing to accept demonetised notes -- they are exempt from the crackdown on high value denomination currency till November 24 -- the FDA has launched a helpline, 1800222365, to allow citizens to report errant pharmacies.

There are two helplines -- 104 and 108 -- being offered by the state health department to report errant private hospitals who refuse to admit patients. In the last three days, over 150 complaints have been reported via these helplines.

"Private hospitals can't accept banned notes, but they have to accept payment in cheque or credit/debit cards. Private medical shops, however, have to accept old notes. As they fall under the FDA, the responsibility of taking measures against it lie with it," said Dr Satish Pawar, director of health services.

BR Masal, joint commissioner (drugs), FDA, said a meeting of pharmacists was recently held and they were strictly told to toe the line.