Over 200 attend state pharmacy conference
KOTA KINABALU: The growth of the pharmaceutical industry nowadays requires pharmacists to adapt themselves to cater for the people and provide better quality services.
Sabah Health Department director Datuk Dr Christina Rundi said pharmacists today are seen as one of the important members of the patient care team and not as an employee who is assigned to dispense drugs.
Christina was speaking during the 32nd Sabah State Pharmacy Conference, which was organized by the State Pharmaceutical Services Division and the Sabah Pharmaceutical Society (SPS).
Over 200 pharmacists all around Sabah attended the conference which was held at a hotel here yesterday.
This year’s theme, ‘Navigating the Healthcare Paradigm’, Christina said, is in accordance with the challenges faced by the pharmaceutical profession today.
She said there were many other areas of pharmacy that can be explored by pharmacists, apart from the conventional pharmaceutical services and thus, created more career opportunities for pharmacist services.
Among the areas that can be explored by pharmacists include community pharmacy, pharmacy manufacturing industry, packaging industry as well as the wholesale and drug supply and distribution industry, she said, adding that areas of research, academia, pharmaceutical and regulatory enforcement and big data management are getting popular as well.
Highlighting on the role of pharmacists in hospitals, Christina said they are placed in wards, collaborating with doctors and other medical teams to plan the best treatment for patients and provide education to patients through community programs such as ‘Kenali Ubat Anda’ (Know Your Drugs).
In a short press conference, Christina explained on various services which were introduced to give patients the flexibility to get medication and at the same time reduced congestion at public health facility pharmacies.
As stated in a motto, ‘everything is at your fingertips’, she said patients can make appointments to take their medication by simply sending WhatsApp, texting or calling on the phone, she explained.
When asked about another value added service introduced, namely, ‘Locker 4U’ which is currently only available at Tuaran Hospital, Christina explained that it facilitated patients to access medicines.
For community pharmacists, however, their role is not limited to the task of prescribing drugs alone, but also being able to initiate medical intervention if necessary and thus she said they could provide counseling services to patients.
Meanwhile, SPS president, Jemima Ho said the latest service offered by 12 community pharmacists around Sabah, is a free checkup for cataracts and those who have it could be referred to the hospital for treatment.