Is 2 years Pharmacy education sufficient to deliver professional service to community at Retail Pharmacy Outlet?

Narrative reply I got from ChatGPT.

My question:

Is 2 years Pharmacy education sufficient to deliver professional service to community at Retail Pharmacy Outlet?

The quality of pharmacy professionals in retail pharmacies in India varies widely. 

Key aspects include:Educational Background: Pharmacists in India typically hold a Diploma in Pharmacy (D. Pharm), a Bachelor of Pharmacy (B. Pharm), or higher degrees like Master of Pharmacy (M. Pharm) and Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D). 

The quality of education and training can vary significantly between institutions.

Regulatory Standards: The Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) sets standards for pharmacy education and practice.

 However, enforcement and adherence to these standards can be inconsistent across different regions.

Professional Competence: In urban areas, many retail pharmacies employ well-trained and knowledgeable pharmacists. However, in rural areas, there may be a shortage of qualified professionals, leading to less optimal pharmacy services.

Continuing Education: Ongoing professional development and continuing education opportunities are essential for maintaining high standards. 

In India, these opportunities are often limited or not mandatory, affecting the overall quality of pharmacy practice.

Customer Interaction and Service Quality: The level of service and patient counseling provided by retail pharmacists can vary.

 Some pharmacists actively engage in patient education and medication management, while others may focus more on dispensing medications without providing additional healthcare support.

Regulatory Challenges: Issues such as the sale of prescription medications without proper prescriptions, counterfeit drugs, and lack of stringent regulatory oversight can impact the quality of pharmacy practice in the retail sector.

Technological Integration: The adoption of technology, such as electronic health records and e-prescriptions, is still in its early stages in many retail pharmacies, which can affect the efficiency and accuracy of pharmacy services.Improving the quality of pharmacy professionals in retail settings in India requires strengthening educational standards, enforcing regulatory compliance, providing continuous professional development, and integrating advanced technologies into pharmacy practice.

Unquote:

This is like a typical Govt reply.-Bhagavan PS.

Q: No Drug License without a Pharmacist - Law. When this is the law how can shortage of pharmacist be the reason for absence of pharmacist?

Pharmacist's absence.

Q: No Drug License without a Pharmacist - Law. When this is the law how can shortage of pharmacist be the reason for absence of pharmacist?

Chat GPT: 

The shortage of pharmacists despite the legal requirement for a drug license highlights a gap between regulation and practice. Here are some potential reasons for this discrepancy:

1. **Supply and Demand Imbalance**: There may be more pharmacies and healthcare facilities requiring pharmacists than there are qualified pharmacists available.

2. **Geographical Disparities**: Certain areas, particularly rural or underserved regions, may have a harder time attracting and retaining pharmacists.

3. **Regulatory Enforcement**: There might be lapses in the enforcement of the law, allowing some pharmacies to operate without the required pharmacist on-site.

4. **Operational Challenges**: Pharmacies might face challenges such as financial constraints, making it difficult to employ a full-time pharmacist.

5. **Temporary Solutions**: Some pharmacies may resort to temporary or part-time staffing arrangements to circumvent the regulations.

Addressing these issues would require a multifaceted approach, including increasing the training and education of pharmacists, providing incentives for working in underserved areas, and stricter enforcement of regulations.

A different POV :PharmDs should have been given "Registered Clinical Pharmacist and Pharmacotherapist Practitioner" certificate.

A different POV :PharmDs should have been given "Registered Clinical Pharmacist and Pharmacotherapist Practitioner" certificate.

self medication

Repeating old prescription - Self-Medication 

Apart from technical issues there are social and economic issues involved that drives the patient to buy repeat dose directly.

The issue is grave in chronic patients like Diabetes, cardiovascular problems, Psychiatric problems, Neurological problems etc..

A  vist to a Doctor costs ₹500 to ₹1000/- excluding medicine. Unaffordable to middle class patient.

However, this doesnt justify self medication even if it is a repeat on old prescription..

But, the challenge remains.....

Can the Challenge be left unaddressed and ignored as is being done now?

Few suggestions:

1. Categorise such drugs into further subgroups:

a. Those that should be dispensed only on New Prescription.

b. Those that can be dispensed for some fixed No of times or in not more than some fixed quantity.

c. Those that should be dispensed only by the Regd Pharmacist.

And also mandate certain guidelines in the prescription for repeat purchase like:

a. Not to be repeated.

b. Repeat for _3_ times only 

c  Repeat only for --weeks requirement.

Alternate suggestion requested 

#Everyone 

#Highlight

Reform - Perform - Transform #PharmacyEducation

Reform  -  Perform  -  Transform 

                        #PharmacyEducation

PCI through a resolution should come out with Sustainable Pragmatic Education Program if necessary by merging certain courses.

Start listing the needs from the field to avoid Debris loading.

Eg. Community Pharmacy and Hospital Pharmacy

D.Pharm to Pharm.D/Pharm.D(PB)

To make minimum qualification for a registered pharmacist to do pharmacy practice in India, Pharm-D degree rather than D.Pharm ie. to replace the state's diploma of pharmacist.

Instead of updating and upgrading the syllabus of D.Pharm, what the policy makers have done is that they have created a new course named Pharm.D/Pharmd(PB) and obvious plan is to make it the minimum qualification for a registered pharmacist to do pharmacy practice in India.

Why create so much confusion, why malign the integrity of Pharmacy field. They could have retained the D.Pharm course and should have made neccessary changes in the syllabus and duration of D.Pharm, so that the minimum qualification for a registered pharmacist to do pharmacy practice in India remain D.Pharm and no need to replace the state's diploma of pharmacist. 

Just imagine if M.B.B.S course is replaced by some other course which is made minimum qualification for a registered physician to do medical practice in India.

However a different take on D. Pharm course is as follows: A different POV :

PCI to introduce medical device mfg in revised curriculum

PCI to introduce Medical Device Mfg in revised curriculum - News Ref. AIOCD.

Why this stupidity?

Is medical devices any formula product?

It is an Engineering subject with medical application.

Knowledge of metals, Rubbers, plasticizers, plastics , PE, PVC, Acrylics, other synthetic materials, absorbability and non-absorbability, their ductile and malleability properties, thermal and irradiation sustainability, besides other related properties like ease of sterilization and application, disposability, special devices for handling radioactive materials etc are a must.

Why burden the pharmacy students for no extra gain?

I remember my B Pharm year 1965 to 69 where we were struggling to work on drawing board to draw basic machine drawings, studying Chemical engineering calculations and formula, orifice meters, Venturi meters, BSc level Arithmetics, Calculus Trigonometry , Algebra etc for no extra gain.

Now, with an eye on to capture control on Mfg and Trading in Medical devices PCI should not run after the mad race in others domain.

-Bhagwan P S