Clinical pharmacist, link between doctors and patient

Hyderabad: To strengthen medical facilities at government hospitals, authorities in the State are in the process of recruiting health care professionals at primary, secondary and tertiary levels.

While recruitment of human resources for government hospitals is underway, nothing much has been talked about in terms of recruiting clinical pharmacists, who are an important link between doctor and the patient, said experts in public health and senior doctors here.

Considered as an important cog in the wheel of health care delivery mechanism, unlike in Europe and United States, the role of clinical pharmacists is less defined in India.

Of late, however, the acceptance towards clinical pharmacists has started to rise and private hospitals in Hyderabad are recruiting talented clinical pharmacists.

“People tend to get confused between pharmacists and clinical pharmacists because there is no awareness on the issue. Pharmacists disburse medicines at a drug store while clinical pharmacists work with doctors and patients to ensure efficient delivery of drugs to patients,” said Katam Sai Kumar, national president, Doctor of Pharmacy Association.

Read more at : https://telanganatoday.com/clinical-pharmacist-link-between-doctors-patients

Proposed amendments to the Recruitment Rules for drugs regulatory posts in CDSCO

Good NEWS !!
Pharm.D qualification has been included in the eligibility criteria for the drugs regulatory posts in Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO).

Below is the official notification of Recruitment Rules for the existing drugs regulatory posts in CDSCO.

Pharmacist to assist patients at CMCH

The Coimbatore Medical College Hospital (CMCH) has posted a pharmacist at the outpatient ward to advise patients on the dosage and at what time they have to take medicines.

According to Deputy Medical Superintendent of CMCH Isaac Christian Moses, more than 6,000 outpatients get over 150 different drugs from the CMCH every day. However, despite a doctor’s briefing during the examination, many of them may have doubts on how to take the prescribed drugs.

In order to assist such patients, a pharmacist has been posted since last week, with a signboard nearby that advises patients to seek his guidance.

With the drugs sourced by the State-run Tamil Nadu Medical Services Corporation having their names printed in both Tamil and English, the pharmacist said that it was relatively easy to explain to the patients.

PCI to come down heavily on colleges which lack required faculty & infrastructure

The Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) has decided to come down heavily on pharmacy colleges if they do not have the required faculty and the infrastructure to conduct B Pharm and M Pharm courses. All pharmacy colleges will need to strictly comply with these norms of 10 labs with required equipments, four classrooms and 24 faculty.

The Council insists on strict compliance to regulations by insisting on appointment of senior faculty, organise QIP workshops and training programmes for younger faculty, monitor the mobility of faculty by uploading their service details on PCI website and recommend Government/ UGC/AICTE pay scales.

To keep tab on the faculty experience, PCI would shortly upload the complete profile of the teachers accessible only to the regulatory authority and colleges to track their movement, create transparency and strict monitoring of their experience.

Pharmacists told to work in PHCs too

Urging qualified pharmacists to take greater roles in the healthcare sector, former president A P J Abdul Kalam on Sunday said they must be given a chance to serve at public health centres (PHCs) and community health centres (CHCs).

Pharmacists want jobs in MNCs, not shops

Even if chemists heed to government pressure and start employing more pharmacists, it seems unlikely that pharmacy graduates will take up too many jobs at medical stores.
“Since a pharmacy degree is equivalent to an MBBS, graduates are reluctant to work in chemists’ shops. However, if their salary is increased the situation might change,” said Abhay Kumar, president, Indian Pharmacist Association (IPA) adding that 70% of his batchmates went abroad to pursue jobs in multinational pharmaceutical companies.

This year, the state Food and Drug Administration suspended and cancelled licences of 90 chemist shops that did not have a mandatory pharmacist, as per government rules.
Following the drive, the demand for pharmacists has escalated to an extent, with shop owners ready to pay up to Rs30,000 a month to a pharmacy diploma holder, a significant increase from the Rs. 12,000 - Rs. 15,000 a month they offered before.                                                                                                                                      
“Higher salaries are being negotiated and there’s even been some cross-bargaining between two or three shop owners,” said Damji Palan, president of the Retail Drug Chemist Association.
The problem most graduate or undergraduate pharmacy students have with working at a chemist are the dismal salaries. “We have better opportunities in multinational companies. There is no potential for growth while working in a chemist shop, and the huge cost of setting one’s own pharmacy makes it unfeasible,” said Kunal Parekh, a final year pharmacy student. M Saraf, principal, Bombay College of Pharmacy, Santacruz, said, “While graduate students seek jobs in the pharmaceutical industry, students with a diploma in pharmacy are more likely to work at a shop.”
After the crackdown, one can see several advertisements outside the office of the Maharashtra Pharmacy Council at Mulund from companies looking to hire pharmacists.

Source:

Pharmacy institute needs more infra: Pharmacy Council of India

 A two-member Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) team from New Delhi inspected on Saturday the infrastructure of Government Pharmacy Institute, Patna, the state's lone pharmacy institute, and found the institute lacking in infrastructure and library facilities. 

KMSCL to appoint Pharm.D professionals as part of strengthening research activities

Peethaambaran Kunnathoor, Chennai
Thursday, August 16, 2012, 08:00 Hrs  [IST]

As part of strengthening research activities and medicine supply, the Kerala State Medical Services Corporation Ltd (KMSCL) has decided to appoint Research Associates from qualified pharmacy practice professionals, it is learnt.

“The Corporation will soon appoint three research assistants. With the strengthening of research activities, the Corporation will become more efficient, transparent and strong,” said Biju Prabhakar, managing director of KMSCL.

The selected candidates will be given minimum six months training. The required qualification for the post notified is first class M. Pharm (pharmacy practice) or Pharm D. Those who have experience in publications or presentations in pharmacy practice, in areas like drug policies, dispensing practices, pharmacoeconomics, pharmaceutical care, drug information, pharmacovigilance, drug use evaluation etc will be given priority

Doctor-pharma firm nexus hits drug quality

In violation of the Hippocratic Oath taken by medical practitioners, the nexus between doctors and pharmaceutical companies continues unabashedly, with doctors prescribing branded medicines based on a higher rate of commission instead of taking into account the quality of medicines. Doctors are not supposed to prescribe anything but generic names of drugs. They keep experimenting with drugs on a trial-anderror basis making guinea pigs out of patients. Dr E. Sai Prasad, former honorary secretary general of Indian Medical Association said, “In the absence of any check on the nexus between pharmaceutical companies and doctors, such practices exist widely and lot of lacunae prevail. However, doctors aren't supposed to prescribe any branded drugs to patients, but prescribe generic names only. When for a greater commission, they prescribe drugs from a lesser known company, chances are high that quality may be compromised. Again, repeatedly changing drugs if one set of medicines fails to work rapidly can be detrimental to patients, who can develop resistance to the antibiotics.“ Dr C. Hemanth, senior general physician, Yashoda Hospital added, “One of the reasons for doctors prescribing branded drugs is the non-availability of generic drugs on wider scale. Compared to thousands of drug stores in cities, there are hardly one or two generic drug stores or Jeevandhara stores.“ `Generic drugs need to be prescribed' `Changes in government policies and price ceiling on drugs is needed for the consumers' benefit. Doctors should be made to prescribe generic drugs of reputed firms with good market share, so that quality is not compromised, said Syamala Rao, founder of Jeevandhara concept in AP. SOURCE: DC

PCI disapproves many provisions put by AICTE for pharmacy courses

Ramesh Shankar, Mumbai
Monday, June 11, 2012, 08:00 Hrs  [IST] 

 In yet another manifestation of dual authority adversely affecting the pharma education in the country, the Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) has clarified that it will not approve several provisions announced by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) regarding the pharmacy courses in the country.

Union Health Ministry to introduce 3 year Rural Medical Course

NEW DELHI: The Union Health Ministry has stated that the proposed rural medical course will soon be implemented to tackle the shortage of doctors in rural areas. The 3½ year rural health care course has been titled as the Bachelor of Rural Health Care (BRHC).

The course is being considered by the Medical Council of India and the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare. This proposal has been on hold for a while now due to the objections from various professional bodies. The syllabus for the course has already been submitted to the Health Ministry by the MCI. The MCI has also had consultations with stakeholders as per the directions from Health Ministry.
The aim of this course is to bring forth a cadre of health care professionals who are chosen, supported, trained and deployed for providing primary health care at sub-centre level in the rural areas.

Source:SME NEWS.

37 pharmacy colleges in Andhra pradesh blacklisted

The Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) is said to have blacklisted 37 colleges in the State for making excess admissions in violation of the PCI norms and with the pretext that the AICTE has permitted them so.

The PCI central council meeting held in New Delhi recently is said to have taken the decision as some colleges have admitted 200 students though the original sanctioned strength is only 60. As per the PCI norms, the maximum strength can go up to 100 if the colleges are more than four years old while it has to be 60 for colleges established in the last four years.

Pharmacy colleges in Chhattisgarh not in favour of launching Pharm D course in their colleges

Even as the first batch of the Pharm D course has come out and started internship in major hospitals in various parts of the country, the pharmacy colleges in the central India, especially in Chhattisgarh, are of the opinion that the course is not feasible for Indian scenario. 

According to teachers and principals of leading pharmacy teaching institutions located in various parts of Chhattisgarh, the much publicised six- year Pharm D course is not feasible for Indian scenario and not cent percent adequate for managing a clinical pharmacy in western countries. The principal of a well known pharmacy college, requesting anonymity, said that in Chhattisgarh there is lack of awareness about Pharm D and no college in the state is running the course.

“How can it get be done in India ? First, the patient has to go to the doctor for diagnosis, gets the diagnosis report, then goes to the Pharm D pharmacist for consultation and prescription of drugs, and gets the medicine from another outlet. This is not feasible in India, a country with more than 110 crore population and limited number of hospitals with limited facilities”, an experienced principal of a pharmacy college said.

Including two government colleges, there are 12 pharmacy colleges in the new state, out of which 7 colleges are having both B Pharm and M Pharm courses. One college is conducting only Diploma in Pharmacy course and B Pharm is conducted in 11 colleges. According to sources, all the pharmacy colleges in Chhattisgarh are unable to fill up the maximum capacity of  student intake, and the passed out graduates and post graduates are struggling to find out a job in their own state. The situation is getting worse year after year.

The main reason pointed out for unemployment for pharmacy graduates in Chhattisgarh is the dormant way of the government in supporting pharma industry, due to this attitude no manufacturing industry or clinical research organisation is coming to the state. Even for training purpose, the students of the pharmacy colleges in Raipur, Bilaspur and Bhilai are sent to pharma companies in Indore, Bhopal, Bangalore and Mumbai, said Dr D K Thripathi, principal of Rungta College of Pharmaceutical Sciences & Research, Bhilai.

According to him government is the agency to create job opportunities for the educated class. Every year more than 300 graduates and post graduates in pharmacy are coming out of various colleges. The healthcare activities in the state are very poor. It has to be developed like what is in Rajasthan where all kinds of drugs are distributed freely with the participation of qualified pharmacists. Pharmacists are getting jobs there, such system has to be implemented in Chhattisgarh also, Dr Thripathi opined.

“In our state there are all the facilities for setting up manufacturing companies. If companies come, CROs will also come. The situation will create placements for plenty of graduates. The state has no power shortage, no water shortage, no manpower problem, no land problem and no political problem. All the facilities are there for the industry. Only problem is the lacklustre attitude of the government”, commented the principal of Rungta College.

To a query he said so far either the AICTE or PCI has not withdrawn the approval of any of the colleges in Chhattisgarh with respect to faculty or infrastructure. All the colleges are complying with all the norms and appointing qualified teachers from outside the state. But there is lack of awareness about pharmacy course. In most of the colleges 40% of the seats are lying unfilled for all the courses.

Dr Thripathi said even now the general public is thinking that pharmacists are mere helpers of doctors.   It is too difficult to change the concept unless total awareness is created.

PCI urges govt to include B Pharm as one of the qualifications for food safety officers under FSS rules

With a view to address the mounting issue of lack of employment among pharmacy graduates, the Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) will soon send a high level representation asking the central government to include B Pharm as one of the qualifications required for the post of food safety officers under the Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Act, which came into force in the country last year.

According to sources, the PCI will soon send a representation to the union health ministry urging them to make certain amendments in the provisions relating to qualification requirements for food safety officers in the Food Safety and Standards (FSS) rules. This demand comes in the wake of increasing incidences where pharmacy graduates were found to be unemployed in the country in spite of having a valid degree and requisite qualification.

Interestingly, under the provisions of the the previous Act, i.e. Prevention of Food Adulteration (PFA) Act 1954, Rules 1955 that governed the food safety issues of the country till recently, B Pharm was included as one of the qualifications required for the post of food safety inspectors. However, with the implementation of the FSS Rules, things became complicated for pharmacy graduates as the requirement of B Pharm graduate was completely removed from the present Rules of the Act.

According to Dr Hemant Koshia, executive committee (EC) member of the PCI, “There are many issues that are affecting the growth of pharmacy in the country at present, and one that tops the list is unemployment among pharmacy graduates. It is really disturbing to know that our burden has been  increased by such decisions that are taken by the Government adding to our present woes while we are trying to address the issue. Considering the current issue of unemployment among the many pharmacy graduates it is imperative on the part of the government to take steps to amend the current rule by modifying and including pharmacy graduates with B Pharm degree for the post of food safety inspectors.”

He further informed that it is essentials to understand that a pharmacy graduate not only has a requisite degree but also has the required training to handle the responsibility of a food safety inspector. Most importantly, they also have the much needed talent through four years of training that will help the government to designate new functionaries, introduce various new provisions  that help upgrade their regulatory institutions.

PCI wants amendment to D&C rules to address unemployment among pharmacists

Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) may soon approach the Government, demanding key amendments to the Drugs & Cosmetics (D&C) Rules 1945 for addressing the serious problem of unemployment among pharmacy graduates in the country. The pharmacy profession has been facing the problem of oversupply of pharmacy graduates with no corresponding number of jobs in the country for some years now.

The issue of unemployment among pharmacy graduates was raised during the PCI's council meeting held in Jaipur on April 1 and 2. As the newly elected executive committee (EC) member of the PCI, Dr Hemant Koshia raised this issue with the PCI members highlighting the plight of the many pharmacy graduates in the country. Understanding the urgency of this issue, PCI has taken note of it and has expressed its interest in representing the cause for the betterment of the pharmacy education.

Clinical pharmacy engaged in geriatric research focus more on medication safety, drug use evaluation: Expert

Clinical pharmacy which plays a critical role in a hospital environment is  increasingly focusing on geriatric medication safety, appropriateness of prescribing drugs, medication errors, adverse drug reactions (ADRs), drug interaction and drug related hospital admissions among elderly patients in hospitals globally. Current role of clinical pharmacists is to identify medication errors, drug use evaluation, patient counseling and treatment decisions.

The ‘elderly’ patients are the largest consumers of medications and they are at highest risk of ADRs. Only pharmacists can help to prevent and identify ADRs and improve medication outcomes in the elderly.

Unemployed pharmacists of TN demand filling up of vacancies in govt hospitals

Demanding immediate filling up of the posts of pharmacists in government hospitals and PHCs and pressing for various other demands, the Tamil Nadu Pharmacist Welfare Association (TNPWA), a body of unemployed pharmacists  in association with Indian Pharmacist Association has taken out a rally in Chennai, in which about 6000 registered pharmacists took part.

Later the office bearers of the association called on the state health minister at his office and submitted a memorandum signed by 10000 pharmacists demanding the government to take urgent measures to fill up the vacancies. As per norms government has to appoint pharmacists in a ratio of one pharmacist for 100 patients in the Out Patient Ward and one pharmacist for 75 patients in the In Patient Ward.

PCI draft guidelines seek legal framework for pharmacists

PCI has also suggested a cap on the number of seats offered by pharmacy colleges to improve quality of education.

Mumbai: The Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) has proposed that pharmacists should be recognized as practising professionals with legal obligations not only to patients, but also to physicians and other healthcare workers.

“Medicines are being misused and the number of drug-induced diseases is increasing. So, we are looking to legally bind pharmacists (who are mostly employed in chemist shops) in delivering certain outcomes and emphasizing their competencies very clearly,” said B. Suresh, president of PCI, which last week submitted draft guidelines to the health ministry to this effect.

IPA recommends setting up of pharmaceutical wing in Indian Military

The hospital pharmacy division of the Indian Pharmaceutical Association (IPA) has urged the Union Ministry of Defence to establish a Hospital Pharmacy Services or ‘Pharmacy Corps’ in the 127 defense hospitals in the country.

In a memorandum to the union defence minister, A K Antony, the IPA said for better patient care and rational use of drugs among defence personnel, the services of a separate sect of Pharmacy Corps are inevitable. The missive to the minister also requested the minister to consider the National Human Rights Commission report of 1999 and the Hathi Committee report of 1975 while implementing the drugs dispensing wing in the defense sector.

Pharmacy Students Agitating on PCI surprise inspection

It has been observed since year 2000 that the Pharmacy students pursuing B.Pharmacy use to go for class bycott, Dharna and representation for PCI inspection and disturb their own college without any reason. It is related to registration rather than employment and degree recognition. Any institution approved by AICTE in which PCI recommended senior