Pharmacists must be responsible

The Sun

GEORGE TOWN: Pharmacists must inform and educate the public on the effects of over-the-counter medicine when selling them,Penang health, welfare and caring society committee chairman Phee Boon Poh said yesterday.

He said there were pharmacists who were dispensing medicine without letting the buyers know the side-effects.

“The pharmacists should vet the buyers to ensure they are legitimate users of the medicine and are not underaged or addicted,”he said.

“Many people do not even know the dosage of paracetamol. Some people take as many as eight tablets a day which can be harmful,” he told a press conference in Komtar.

*This is not the latest news. It's just a new news that we found from the internet to be uploaded. Sorry for the inconvenience.

A New Job Scope for Pharmacist : RADIOPHARMACY

Some surveys and interviews had been done to acknowledge and promote to the public especially pharmacy students about "Radiopharmacy".

Radiopharmacy a.k.a. Nuclear Pharmacy is branch of medicine that uses of radiopharmaceuticals for diagnosis and treatment. This new branch involves manufacture, preparation and supply of safe and effective radiopharmaceuticals for diagnosis and therapy purposes.Futhermore, radiopharmacist provides advice and support on radio- pharmaceuticals usage.

Required to have a working knowledge in:
Basic nuclear physics, chemistry, radiochemistry, biochemistry, immunology, anatomy, haematology, radiation protection and also radioactive-related laws

Main responsibility:
Procurement, preparation, quality control, supply of radiopharmaceuticals and ensure its safety and efficacy.

Research and Development activity:
Dispensing technique, QC technique or even development of new radiopharmaceuticals

Clinical role :
advise the use of radio-pharmaceutical and patient care in nuclear medicine department

Advice on :
->Possibility of drug interaction
->Abnormal bio-distribution
->Interference of concurrent medication
->Stability and formulation of radiopharmaceuticals

Nuclear medicine imaging is useful for detecting:
->tumors
->aneurysms (weak spots in blood vessel walls)
->irregular or inadequate blood flow to various tissues
->blood cell disorders and inadequate functioning of organs, such as thyroid and pulmonary function deficiencies.

**The use of any specific test, or combination of tests, depends upon the patient's symptoms and the disease being diagnosed.

A Reply From The Government About "Pharmacist's Critical Allowance"

Full preview

This is the link to view the full story of Allowance reduction unfair to pharmacists

This letter was replied by one of the government officer and it seems the critical allowance issue is still being reconsider. So, we hope for the best; that benefits us and the ummah always.

Oath Of Pharmacist

Click here

Raising the bar for Pharmacist

The New Straits Times

KUALA LUMPUR: The new president of the Malaysian Pharmaceutical Society (MPS) believes that running the organisation is not a one-man show but a team effort involving pharmacists.

Datuk Nancy Ho, also the first president from Sabah, said she would try to use this joint approach to enhance professionalism in the sector.

For her, structured programmes such as regular seminars and workshops were the key to raising the bar for pharmacists.

"We will organise two annual major conferences and in between, educational institutions will also conduct talks and courses for pharmacists.

"There will be a continuous year-long training," said Ho.
She added that the Health Ministry had required all government pharmacists to collect Continued Professional Development (CPD) points with a similar plan for pharmacists in the private sector.

"At the moment, it is compulsory for pharmacists to have 30 points per year to renew their licence. For example, if you attend a training course, you are given two points.

"They are looking at making it a requirement for the private sector too. When both the government and private sector undergo regular training and retraining, they will carry out their duties more effectively."

Pharmacist code of ethics

I. A pharmacist respects the covenantal relationship between the patient and pharmacist.




II. A pharmacist promotes the good of every patient in a caring, compassionate, and confidential manner.




III. A pharmacist respects the autonomy and dignity of each patient.





IV. A pharmacist acts with honesty and integrity in professional relationships.


V. A pharmacist maintains professional competence.


VI. A pharmacist respects the values and abilities of colleagues and other health professionals.

VII. A pharmacist serves individual, community, and societal needs.

VIII. A pharmacist seeks justice in the distribution of health resources.

Effective communication skills

To be an effective healthcare provider, it is necessary to understand the patient’s perspective. It is vitally important as a pharmacist to be able to put oneself in the patient’s shoes, thereby facilitating patient self-expression.

Effective communication skills require four important aspects.
*rapport building
*questioning and listening skills
*explaining skills
*non-verbal skills.

The pharmacist needs to use his/her personal judgment and personal experience to quickly sense any embarrassment on the patient side. In the current community pharmacy setup, an enclosed counseling room is not available. Hence, the pharmacist should quickly suggest moving to a quieter part of the premise to continue the conversation.

Health professionals and patients have different priorities for information about drug treatment. Most patients now are keen to know more about the side effects. Pharmacist needs to understand the best way to present this information.

The information must not be too complex or theoretical for patients to follow or it may instill too fear causing the patient apprehension in taking the medication.

Pharmacy Field

Pharmacist in clinical

The pharmacist in the hospital works closely with the doctors to decide on the most cost-effective medicine for different disease conditions. Pharmacists check on the dose and type of medicine prescribed by the doctors, providing an essential screen against medication errors. They fill prescriptions and counsel patients on the right way to take medicine, to improve patient compliance so as to ensure therapeutic success and to reduce adverse effects due to inappropriate use of the drug. Sometimes if certain prescribed medicine is very expensive, pharmacists can help doctors look for a cheaper but equally effective generic substitute.

Pharmacists do therapeutic drug monitoring to help doctors provide more effective treatment, with lesser drug-induced adverse effects.
Pharmacists in hospitals also do small-scale formulation and manufacture of special dosage forms when requested by specialists in the hospitals.

Pharmacist in community/retail

The community pharmacist not only dispenses doctors' prescriptions for medicines, they also manage, procure, store, sell, counsel and advice patients and consumers on the use of over-the-counter drugs, herbal medication, food supplements and cosmetics. Pharmacists also counsel patients on the use of certain medical devices and perform certain diagnostic tests. They participate in the distribution of health information and advises consumers on disease prevention and the promotion of wellness.

Community pharmacists either own their own pharmacies or work as managers for pharmacies owned by a chain pharmacy or a non-pharmacist owner.

Pharmacist in industrial

Generally, an industrial pharmacist will involve in the process of production, research and development of new medicines thus ensuring their safety and quality. One can opt for a role in any of the functions mentioned below:
• Marketing
• Research and product development
• Quality control
• Sales and administration

Other than that, many industrial pharmacists also service the medical community as medical representatives. These representatives meet medical practitioners and introduce them to various drugs, its benefits and how they must be administered. Medical representatives play a very vital role in successful marketing and sales initiatives of pharmaceutical companies.


Pharmacist in enforcement and regulatory sector

Regulatory and enforcement pharmacists work for Government bodies which protects public health. Their job is to ensure that import, manufacture, sale or supply of pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, health-care products and controlled chemicals are conducted in accordance to existing legislation. It is also to ensure that all of the above products are safe before they can be manufactured and marketed to the public.

Pharmacists in acedemia

The pharmacy graduate can also choose an academic career. With additional Master and Doctorate qualifications in appropriate pharmacy disciplines, the pharmacist can become a lecturer in the university in pharmacy, medical, dental, nursing or biomedical science departments. The pharmacy graduate can also do research and drug development in the creation of new drugs or new formulations of drugs in universities research centers or drug companies.

For more information, please refer to the link below:

http://www.cornerstone-msc.net/new_mps/html/pharmacy_of_career.htm
http://www.pharmacy.gov.my/html/about_us_f.htm
http://www.pharmacy.gov.my/index.cfm?&menuid=137
http://portal.bpfk.gov.my/bpfk/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pharmacy#Community_pharmacy

Value Pharmacists, Not Sideline Them

We found this letter, posted by a phamacist at MPS (Malaysian Pharmaceutical) Website. We hope this issue will be acknowledged by others.


"WE read with interest the letter “Allowance reduction unfair to pharmacists” (The Star,Nov 13).We totally agree that it will be unfair for the Government to remove the current critical allowance for pharmacists working in the public sector.

The removal would effectively equate the contribution and value of pharmacists with other non-healthcare professionals. We need to understand that pharmacists are well-trained and dedicated healthcare professionals. It is unwise to treat them as graduates from other science-related fields.

They first of all need to pass the strict university selection criteria and then study hard for four years to get the pharmacy degree.
Subsequently, they need to complete a one-year pre-registration training in a government hospital and then serve for another three years in government service before they can become fully registered pharmacists.

Under this rigorous training regime,they are well versed in the development, utilisation,care and economics of medicine use.
Pharmacists play an important role in light of the increasing complexities of medicine use and poor medicine adherence among the population. The potential fatal consequences of undetected interaction between medicine and disease, medicine and herbs/supplements,and medicine with medicine are well documented.

The potential economic consequences of medication error is a staggering US$3.5billion (RM11.8billion)in the United States and we believe that similar situations do occur in Malaysia.Recognising the importance of pharmacists in quality assurance and the safe administration of medicines, the World Health Organisation and most countries have placed pharmacists as a critical professional for optimal population health, alongside physicians and nurses.

In Malaysia, the government pharmacy services have evolved a long way since independence and it continues to serve the public in many ways. They now offer a broad range of services,including outpatient medicine dispensing/counselling,inpatient medicine dispensing/counselling,cancer drug reconstitution. But we have to realise that all of these services are offered without any special reimbursement, unlike in most developed countries where most of such services are well reimbursed under an advanced care health schedule.

The expansion in the Malaysian pharmacy services over the last 20 years especially in the public sector has also substantially increased the demand for pharmacists in more specialised areas.

In a nutshell, pharmacists are globally recognised as critical healthcare professionals, together with physicians and nurses, and deserve the same financial recognition as the others. Why should they be sidelined?"

DR MOHAMED AZMI AHMAD HASSALI
DR ASRUL AKMAL SHAFIE,
School of Pharmaceutical Science,
USM, Penang.

School of pharmacy in Malaysia...

There are many universities in Malaysia or in this world that offered diploma, degree, master and phD in field of pharmacy. In Malaysia, there are five local universities that offered this program.

The others private universities in Malaysia:-
 IMU-International Medical University School of Pharmacy
 HICT-HELP International College of Technology
 AIMST-AIMST University School of Pharmacy
 UCSI-UCSI University College of Pharmacy
 CUCMS-Cyberjaya University College of Medical Sciences
Do you know? To be a pharmacist, someone must pass the exam that establish by Ministry of Health, in order to be PRP (pre-registered pharmacist), and after one year service in hospital it turn to FRP (fully register pharmacist).

Let's Explore This Blog!

This is a short video clip created by us. Just a simple journey that some of us had been through. Hope you enjoy it.

Pharmacists may win 20-year battle

The New Straits Times

KUALA LUMPUR: Pharmacists may soon win their 20-year battle with doctors over who should dispense medication with 600 pharmacists entering the market annually from next year.

Their unprecedented numbers will be the answer to doubts among doctors on whether the nation would ever have enough pharmacists to make them the sole dispensers of medication.

At present, both pharmacists and doctors dispense medication to patients.

Malaysian Pharmaceutical Society president Datuk Nancy Ho said the pharmacists entering the market next year were the first batch finishing the four-year compulsory service with the government.

She said they would help meet the shortage of pharmacists which had affected plans to get pharmacists take over the task of dispensing medicines from doctors.
The MPS has argued that pharmacists were better trained to dispense medication because of their specialised knowledge of medical products and their chemical interaction.

But the Malaysian Medical Association has held that the 6,000 pharmacists nationwide were insufficient to meet the needs of patients as not all pharmacies had a pharmacist throughout the day.

It is understood that the starting of 24-hour pharmacies is another option the MPS is considering if the Health Ministry decides to award sole dispenser right to pharmacists.

Health Minister Datuk Liow Tiong Lai has been in dialogue with both parties but has yet to make a decision.

Ho said the society was also carrying out a campaign to enable better professional relationships with customers.

She said the year-long "Know Your Pharmacist" campaign launched last week would see pharmacists role-playing to improve services.

Pharmacists will be rated in a Gallup poll on trustworthy professions that MPS hopes to start with a rating agency for the public, Ho said.

Job discription

Pharmacists are experts on the action and uses of drugs, including their chemistry, the formulation of medicines and the way in which drugs are use to manage disease. They prepare and dispense prescribed medications. They mix and measure drug products from raw materials according to doctors' prescriptions, and are responsible for formulating, storing, and providing correct dosages of medicines, now usually produced by pharmaceutical companies as pre-measured tablets or capsules. They also advise patients on the use of both prescription and over-the-counter drugs.
Pharmacists are in close contact with patients, thus they have an important role in assisting patients to make the best use of their prescribed medicines. They inform patients about the medications they'll be using, its potential side effects and its dosage. They help make sure patients use drugs safely and effectively by keeping track of their progress and their responses to the drugs. Sometimes their advice goes outside the boundaries of drugs to include diet, exercise, stress management, or home healthcare supplies. Pharmacists who work in a healthcare facility are in close working relationships with other members of health care team such as doctors, nurses, dentists and others. They have responsibility to inform physicians on drug selection, dosages, interactions, side effects and cost of drugs. They keep abreast with the latest pharmaceutical products and make recommendations to doctors on what drugs are available in the market. They also manage the supply of drugs at the healthcare facility; plan, monitor and evaluate drug programs or regimens; and counsel hospitalized patients on the use of drugs before the patients are discharged.

Working environment

The environment in which the pharmacists work will have the considerable influence on their efficiency and therefore it is important to develop a tidy and organize working area. The bench that they work at and the equipment they use must all be thoroughly clean. Many pharmacists spend most of their workday on their feet. The job is mentally-demanding, requiring diligence, patience and alertness. Clean white lab coat is a must. When working with sterile or dangerous pharmaceutical products, pharmacists wear gloves, masks, and other protective equipment.

Introduction