Be sensitive to dispersed population, health director urges pharmacists
KUCHING: The roles played by pharmacists will continue to evolve and develop with the changing times and transformation taking place in the health sector.
“Some of the notable changes are pharmacists now are more towards patient-centered role instead of product-based role,” said Sarawak Health Department director Dr Jamilah Hashim during the launching ceremony of Sarawak Conference 2019 at UCSI University Sarawak Campus, Jalan Keruing here yesterday.
As the society is now better informed with the assistance of information technology and with the expanding types of therapy drugs, the expertise of pharmacists is now more sought after than ever in meeting the demands of an evolving consumer market.
“Pharmacists these days are carrying out activities like pharmaceutical care and rendering services like home medication review, medication therapy adherence clinic and pharmacotherapy at hospital wards,” she said.
Moreover, she also praised public sector pharmacists for being innovative and creative with ways to dispense medicine to patients at hospitals and clinics by utilising technology or information application.
During her speech, Dr Jamilah took the opportunity to ask the local pharmacists to take the circumstances of their patients into consideration as some of them might live far away from the nearest clinic and hospital.
“Be sensitive and interview the patients thoroughly before dispensing more than one month supply of medicine to the patients,” she advised so as to cater for the dispersed population of Sarawak and Sabah.
Home medication review is available where health personnel including pharmacists would visit a patient’s home, especially those living far away from health facilities, in line with their ‘Care Close to Home’ concept.
On another note, she hoped pharmacy practitioners would use the conference to seek ways to solve congestion and long waiting time at pharmacies located at government hospitals and clinics.
And she expressed the hope that the conference would be a platform for pharmacy practitioners to exchange information and contribute positively towards the improvement of the local pharmacy service.
“After attending this, I believe the pharmacists and assistant pharmacists role will be reinvigorated and more value services be created,” she said.
Themed ‘Reinvigorating Pharmacist’s Roles, Creating Valued Services,’ the three-day conference (until May 5) is being held at UCSI University Sarawak Campus in collaboration with Sarawak Health Department Pharmaceutical Service Division and Sarawak Pharmacy Association.