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.
