26/12/2013
In the current scenario of the health care system the main pillar which is missing that is the Pharmacist. As recognized globally Pharmacist is the only custodian of drug and in our homeland we do admit Pharmacist as a pillar of health care system but unfortunately practically we don’t agree with the statement by not implementing the approved and required pharmaceutical care system where Pharmacist is the Suggestive and Strong Supportive member of the health care team. Yearly approximately more than 4000 Pharmacists are being produced across the country but there is no appropriate service structure which may help the Pharmacist and the Pharmacy profession to flourish due to one or the other reason. World wide Pharmacists are being absorbed in the wide pool of community Pharmacy but in Our homeland the rights to do so or practice are being sold. There is no strict check and balance by the legislative bodies to check whether the Pharmacy / Chemist Shop / Distribution setup / whole sale is being ran by a legally qualified and professionally competent Pharmacist or a simple investor / business men. Hence all the fresh production of competent Pharmacists wanders here and there for Internships / trainings / jobs which are rarely found. The need of time is to critically look into the health care system and the application of the Pharmacist and the Pharmacy profession so that we are able to get the desired health care system by utilizing such an educated and recognized professional who is of the utmost importance. There are many factors which are affecting the quality of Pharmacists being produced. To solve all these problems there is need of a strong correlation between the Teaching Institute, The Association and the council. We have to plan for our upcoming Pharmacists which are being produced and to plan a proper utilization of them so that the existing available manpower is utilized where it is required. For instance I am mentioning some fields where Pharmacists need to be deployed with a proper career counseling and service structure so that they are benefited and work confidently for the betterment of their own life and other population. The various fields are as under
1. Pharmaceutical Industry:
• Dose Development
• Raw Material Purchase and its quality checking / evaluation
• Whole Manufacturing Process according to cGMP
• Quality Control and Quality Assurance
• Package Designing
• Packaging and labeling
• Post Marketing surveillance
2. Distribution and Community Pharmacy Setups:
• Proper Inventory management
• Proper storage as per standard operating procedures
• Management of controlled Drugs
• Dispensing of All the prescriptions as per need of the patient
• Patient counseling and community education
• Training of staff for the appropriate handling of Drugs
3. Sales and Marketing:
• Detailing to Physicians for new drugs and dosage regimens
• Educating the Health care professionals for the new drug developments and dose changes for the rational usage of drugs
4. Hospitals and Health Care Setups:
• Devising the formulary according to needs of the health care setup i.e. Hospitals, clinics, BHU’s etc
• Purchasing and proper storage of drugs
• Dispensing of Drugs to the patients according to standard protocol
• Monitoring the patients for any Adverse drug effects and interactions of any type
• Playing a suggestive and supportive role to the physician in the desired clinical out put of the drug
• Dose calculations for special population
• Training and education of the Nursing and other paramedics for proper, safe and effective handling of the Drugs
• Compounding of extemporaneous preparations as desired or needed by the Physicians
5. Legislative Bodies:
• Pharmacist is the part of Drug regulatory authorities for Licensing, Inspecting, pricing, Import & Export, Scheduling of controlled Drugs and Sale of Drugs
• Pharmacy Council of Pakistan constituted by Pharmacist is responsible for Licensing of the degree awarding institutes
6. Research and Education:
• Pharmacists are involved in research and education for the betterment of health care sector across the globe to serve the humanity, as the basic necessity is Health for all
The legally qualified and technically eligible health care professional for the above said tasks in various domains is referred as “Pharmacist”., who performs a variety of jobs in multiple sectors to make the drugs safe, effective and economic for the end user. In the recent years, the most prominent role of a pharmacist has been the “community Health care provider”. Where he interprets and counsels the use and adverse effects of medically prescribed drugs. Depending upon the legal scope of practice world wide the pharmacist may even contribute to prescribing and administering certain medication (e.g, immunizations).
Contrary to the worldwide accepted rules and regulations, the role of Pharmacist in Pakistan is totally neglected by the health care authorities while policy making, the policies forged by the legislating bodies in Pakistan have certain loop holes which make the use of pharmaceuticals unsafe, in-effective & expensive for the end user. The upshots of the above said have had lime light in the recent past; PIC scandal , the Ephedrine scam and the Tyno syrup scandal are a few of the hundreds of drugs related irregularities which take place unaccounted for in our beloved country. It is the need of the time to promote this Profession for the betterment of the health care sector in our beloved country and the betterment of suffering humanity and above all to improve the life quality of an individual.
Muhammad Shifa Khan Rph
