Media Release
Dubai, Aug 10: The new center at Gulf Medical University (GMU) for Drug Information and Evidence-Based Pharmacy at Thumbay University Hospital is reforming pharmacy education and practice in the region. The College of Pharmacy at Gulf Medical University is the first to start a drug information center by an academic institution in the UAE. It is a center of excellence with collaborations with Washington State University and the Medical University of South Carolina in the USA. The roles of the Center for Drug Information and Evidence-Based Practice include providing drug information support in direct patient care and in establishing an evidence-based practice with a scientific mix of evidence, local expertise and patient values.
The center for Drug Information and Evidence-Based Practice is responsible to provide the best quality drug information promptly to healthcare professionals in achieving better treatment outcomes in their patients. It helps in the informed decision-making process. It is also responsible to support high-quality patient care ensuring patient safety with the selection of the right medicines to hospital formulary and revision of clinical protocols.
Pharmacists have traditionally been scientists. They discovered and prepared medicines. With dispensing for rational drug use, pharmacists monitor medication safety and effectiveness. Based on scientific data, they improvised medicines and medical devices. Drug information and evidence-based practice is a hallmark of pharmacists. It scientifically and intellectually enhances pharmacy practice, respected by their patients and fellow clinicians.
The doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) programme is a higher-level programme in the USA, and the MENA region is moving in that direction too. PharmD programme is imparting higher scholarly skills in students. Students are transformed into respectable clinicians with high experiential and research learning.
The center for drug information and evidence-based pharmacy operated by the College of Pharmacy at Gulf Medical University provides a unique opportunity for pharmacy students to practice and learn from real-world experience. Gulf Medical University being part of the Thumbay Group is blessed with its hospitals, clinics and pharmacies in UAE. Students with excellent merits are given job opportunities in its healthcare institutions.