Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala government plans to conduct strict prescription audits in hospitals and take action against doctors who prescribe second or third-degree antibiotics as the first step of treatment for primary infections.

State Health Minister Veena George said the prescription audits in government hospitals will be carried out once a month under the supervision of the superintendents, and the anomalies will be strictly monitored.

The state is taking measures on a war footing to combat Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), which, according to the WHO, is a silent pandemic that could potentially lead to over one crore deaths by the end of 2050 globally, she said here.

The state government has already launched 'Operation Amrutha', to take strict action against pharmacies that sell antibiotics over the counter without a valid prescription from the doctor.

"Kerala has got a special programme for the AMR and we have formulated new ideas like antibiotic-smart hospitals," George said.

She said the licences of the pharmacies would be cancelled if they were found to sell antibiotics without a prescription.

The prescription audit is to find out unethical antibiotic prescriptions from doctors, that ultimately lead to AMR.

"Doctors will be under check and those doctors will be called if it is a common prescription pattern for that particular doctor," the minister said.

George said these steps to fight AMR are formulated by doctors themselves and she hoped to get full support for it from the doctor community.

She said the state has also created a KARSNET (Kerala Antimicrobial Resistance Action Plan) where hospitals are asked to follow the Antibiotic protocol to become a part of the KARSNET.

"We have requested the IMA to bring in more hospitals into the network."

She said the state government agencies are already conducting research in select areas and on select antibiotics to understand the extent of AMR and such reports are presented regularly in the AMR committee review meetings.

AMR is not just causing harm to human beings but to other living beings as well, she noted.

"The health department is heading the AMR state level committee but we also have departments like Animal Husbandry, Veterinary and Water Authority as members of the committee. In every state-level AMR committee meeting, we sit and analyse various project studies conducted in different parts of the state on AMR," she added.

She also informed that 150 Ayush institutions in Kerala have received NABH entry level certification thus becoming the first state in India to get such a certificate for Ayush hospitals.

The department could complete the certification process in just 90 days, she said, adding that another 150 Ayush institutions will get NABH certification in the second phase. PTI