Archive · 19 Sep 2026
Mumbai Survey Finds Widespread Gaps in Prescription Medicine Checks
A survey asked people in Mumbai about buying medicines.
Many people said chemists did not regularly ask for a doctor’s prescription.
Some people ordering medicines at home also said prescriptions were rarely checked.
Most respondents still bought medicines from local medical stores.
Only a small number always received help from a qualified pharmacist.
Some customers did not receive a proper bill.
A few people said they received medicines they thought were fake or ineffective.
The findings came as the government proposed using CCTV cameras to monitor medical stores more closely.
A LocalCircles survey found 71% of Mumbai respondents said chemists never or rarely refused medicine sales without prescriptions.
Only 5% said their chemist always refused to sell medicines without a prescription.
Among home-delivery users, 58% said prescriptions were never or rarely checked.
Local medical stores remained the most common purchase channel, used by 57% of respondents.
The survey also found gaps involving pharmacist qualifications, billing, and suspected medicine quality.
- Who
- LocalCircles surveyed medicine consumers in Mumbai, including 20,498 respondents; Sachin Taparia commented on the findings.
- What
- The survey examined prescription checks, medicine purchasing, home delivery, pharmacist access, billing, and medicine quality.
- When
- The findings were reported on September 19, 2026, and covered experiences during the previous year.
- Where
- Mumbai, with the wider survey covering 327 districts.
- Why
- The findings raised concerns about prescription compliance amid a government proposal to strengthen medical-store monitoring through CCTV cameras.
- Mumbai respondents
- 20,498 consumers participated in the Mumbai portion of the survey.
- Survey scope
- The wider survey covered 1.06 lakh consumers across 327 districts.
- Prescription refusal
- 36% said chemists never refused non-prescription sales, while 35% said refusal happened rarely.
- Home delivery
- Among 3,697 respondents, 18% said prescriptions were never requested and 40% said they were rarely checked.
- Purchase channels
- 57% bought medicines from local medical stores, 26% used phone or WhatsApp orders, and 17% used e-pharmacy applications.
- Pharmacist assistance
- Among 3,012 respondents, 10% always received help from a qualified pharmacist and 21% were assisted by someone unqualified.
- Billing
- Among 3,122 respondents, 76% received printed GST bills, 8% received slips or paper, and 9% received no bill.
- Medicine quality
- Among 3,521 respondents, 2% reported receiving fake medicines several times, 4% once or twice, and 14% suspected medicines were fake or ineffective.