However, Pharmacy is not limited to Allopathic medicines. It also imbibes AYUSH medicines.
**Yes, modern pharmacy actively incorporates and collaborates with AYUSH systems** (Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homoeopathy) in several key ways:
### 1. Retail & Commercial Availability
* **Over-the-Counter & Integrated Pharmacies:** Modern retail pharmacies routinely stock and sell AYUSH medicines alongside conventional allopathic drugs.
* **Regulatory Distinction:** Under the *Drugs and Cosmetics Act*, classical AYUSH formulations generally do not require a separate retail drug license compared to allopathic pharmaceuticals, making them easily accessible in retail drugstores across India.
### 2. Integrative Healthcare & Government Policy
* **Co-Location Strategy:** Under the National Health Mission (NHM), the Government of India has systematically co-located AYUSH facilities within Primary Health Centres (PHCs), Community Health Centres (CHCs), and District Hospitals. These setups often share unified hospital pharmacies or dual-dispensing counters to offer integrative choices under a single roof.
* **Central Oversight:** An exclusive **AYUSH vertical** exists within the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) to standardize, monitor quality, and regulate AYUSH manufacturing and pharmacy standards.
### 3. Pharmaceutical Research & Education
* **Pharmacognosy & Phytotherapy:** B.Pharm and M.Pharm curricula cover *Pharmacognosy*—the study of medicinal drugs derived from plants and natural sources—which heavily overlaps with the herbal formulations of Ayurveda, Siddha, and Unani.
* **Standardization & Quality Control:** Modern pharmaceutical technologies (like high-performance liquid chromatography, standardized extraction, and micro-encapsulation) are widely used to manufacture, validate, and standardize classical AYUSH medicines for batch-to-batch consistency and global export.
