World Pharmacists Day is observed on the 25th September of every year to express gratitude and advocate the important role pharmacists play in enhancing global health in various aspects. Determined by the International Pharmaceutical Federation Council (FIP), “Pharmacy United in Action for A Healthier World” is the theme for this year’s World’s Pharmacist Day 2022. The aim of this theme is to enlighten the public on the positive impact pharmacists bring towards a better health as well as to strengthen solidarity among the profession further. It is also celebrated to honor the very important role they play in transforming the healthcare landscape especially at the community level such as providing counselling on how to take your medications or medical devices (eg: inhaler, insulin pen), vaccination, ensuring optimum medication use, prioritizing medication adherence for the betterment of our health as well as disease management in hopes to enhance the quality of life of all patients in the community in which they serve.
History of World Pharmacist's Day
Essentially, FIP, as a non-governmental organization (NGO) is the premier global body that represents all pharmacy, pharmaceutical sciences and pharmaceutical education. It is built to support the pharmacist network and the development of this profession at a global scale. The reason behind the date for the annual World Pharmacist’s Day can also be linked back to the development of the FIP. According to the Turkish members of FIP, 25th of September is chosen to be specially dedicated to our fellow pharmacists since the FIP was established on that date back in 1912.
Types of Pharmacists
Today, pharmacists' role has expanded to not just being the professional behind the counter and assisting patients in making the most of their treatment regimen, but they’re also involved in research and development especially prominent in our recent outbreak era, academic, regulatory and so on. However, it is still unfamiliar to the public eye that pharmacists work in settings beside the conventional retail pharmacy. Let’s dive deeper into the types of pharmacists there are:
1. Community Pharmacists
This is the most common and traditional form of pharmacy practice where pharmacists are involved in dispensing medicines based on the prescription prescribed by the doctor with caution and conducted with full responsibilities as well as providing medication counselling or lifestyle advice to the community at large. The key role of community pharmacists is to screen for correct dosage, whether the treatment prescribed is appropriate, possible drug-drug interaction or drug-food interaction. Community pharmacists can be seen in all retail pharmacies, be it franchise (ie: Caring pharmacy, Big pharmacy, Healthlane etc) or independent pharmacies. Here, the pharmacists could either be the owner of the pharmacy or work as an employee.
2. Hospital Pharmacists
Just like the name suggests, hospital pharmacists are pharmacists that cater to patients in the hospital setting, whether it is a private or public hospital. They contribute equally to a multidisciplinary team of other allied healthcare professionals to ensure patients receive the best care. Hospital pharmacists covers the dispensing of drugs, galenical preparation of drugs (ie: syrup for paediatrics), provision of drug information, counselling services (ie: Medication Therapy Adherence Clinic, MTAC), purchasing and management of inventories of drugs, therapeutic drug monitoring, preparation of cancer drugs (CDR) as well as preparing total parenteral nutrition for patients who can’t eat due to their condition.
3. Industrial Pharmacists
Pharmacists in this field can be either an executive and/or manager in the commercial organizations which can be either a manufacturing company or a multinational company (MNC) involved in the export/import of drugs and research and development.
They mainly deal with importation and selling pharmaceutical raw materials in bulk as well as marketing pharmaceutical products to relevant stakeholders such as hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, pharmaceutical manufacturing houses and so on.
On the other hand, in the MNC setting, pharmacists are involved in marketing and distribution drugs whereby they are required to ensure all registration of pharmaceuticals conform with the Malaysian Drugs Laws and comply with the ethical principles in all business transactions. They could also be overseeing a team of properly trained staff and pass relevant new information to practitioners regarding the pharmaceutics they’re selling.
4. Quality Control & Assurance Pharmacists
QC & QA pharmacists generally work in pharmaceutical manufacturing plants (ie: Pharmaniaga, Duopharma, Kotra Pharma etc) where they are responsible for conducting safety tests in the lab to ensure the drugs that will be distributed and sold meet the Good Manufacturing Practice requirements.
Quality assurance on the other hand may work in hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, pharmaceutical manufacturing factories or work as government auditors. Their job function is to ensure compliance to standards so that patient’s health is not compromised in any way.
5. Regulatory Pharmacists
Examples of regulatory pharmacists are the National Pharmacy Regulatory Agency (NPRA) which are basically a team of government pharmacists practising regulatory pharmacy. Their responsibility is to oversee and approve registrations submitted by importers/distributors as well as taking charge of Good Manufacturing Practice including overseeing the analysis of products submitted for registration. Meanwhile, for the Private Sector Regulatory Pharmacists, they are responsible for the registration of products for the importers and distributors and provide consulting services for their restriction.
6. Veterinary Pharmacists
Involved in the distribution of medications for pets and farm animals.
7. Academic Pharmacists
They are the pharmacists employed in teaching in tertiary institutions or organizations such as the pharmaceutical science schools in universities who will pass their knowledge to future pharmacists.
8. Research & Development Pharmacists
Pharmacists who are interested in clinical research working either at the Clinical Research Centre of Ministry of Health, with universities or with pharmaceutical companies. Drug research is very much part of the pharmaceutical industries and major pharmaceutical companies spend considerable money on research and development. Hence R&D pharmacists are especially valuable to the innovation of medical advancements and definitely deserve the recognition.
Now that we’ve got a gist on the different roles pharmacists can play in our community and how valuable their contributions are, let us show our appreciation to our dedicated and commendable pharmacists today! Congratulations and sincerest thanks to all pharmacists for all your hard work and meaningful contributions to the community <3
Written by Janelle Leong, Bpharm(Hons)
References
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World Pharmacist’s Day - National Today. Available at https://nationaltoday.com/world-pharmacists-day/. Accessed on 23rd September 2022
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World Pharmacists Day: History, Theme, Speech. Available at https://byjusexamprep.com/current-affairs/world-pharmacists-day Accessed on 23rd September 2022
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Career in Pharmacy - Science Career Asia. Available at https://sciencecareer.asia/career-in-pharmacy/ Accessed on 23rd September 2022
