Media Release
Ajman, Apr 21: Pharmacists are now becoming indispensable in monitoring patient drug therapy. The clinical pharmacy grew with the concept of pharmaceutical care, the responsible provision of drug therapy for the purpose of achieving definite outcomes which improve the patients' quality of life, said Dr Moh’d Abu Elkhair, advisor, drugs and medical products, health authority of Abu Dhabi.
Delivering a lecture on ‘Role of Pharmacists in Promoting Public Health’ at the seminar held at College of Pharmacy, Gulf Medical University, Dr Abu Elkhair mentioned that the ultimate goal of pharmaceutical care is to optimize a patient's quality of life.
The conference was inaugurated by the provost of the University Prof Gita Ashok Raj. Earlier, the delegates were welcomed by Dr Arun Shirwaikar, dean, College of Pharmacy, GMU.
Awadelsid Omer Mohamed, pharmacy supervisor, ambulatory services, Mafraq Hospital, Abu Dhabi, spoke on 'Medication Reconciliation – A New Approach in Patient Safety'.
Dr Lana Hammad, director, pharmacy services, Rahba Hospital, Abu Dhabi highlighted on promoting pharmaceutical care model in community pharmacy through implementing effective medication safety tools and resources.
Prof Mohamed Arifulla, head, dept of pharmacology and dean, admissions and registers, GMU stressed on the role of community pharmacists in educating diabetic patients. In his lecture Dr Arifulla said that the patient counseling is interactive in nature and involves a one-to-one interaction between a pharmacist and a patient and/or caregiver. The ultimate goal of counseling is to provide information directed at encouraging safe and appropriate use of medications, thereby enhancing therapeutic outcomes. Another important role of pharmacist is always being available to answer the questions of the patients. Overall, it is the pharmacist's role to help a diabetic patient in the best possible way to cope with their disease, Dr Arifulla said.
S Kishore Gnana Sam, lecturer, College of Pharmacy, Gulf Medical University, spoke about the importance of home medicine review.
Experts felt that for decades, pharmacists in the community setting have performed an invaluable service for patients and their communities by avoiding medication-related problems with the use of a drug utilization review and patient counseling. Although these services were regarded as essential, often they were not documented. As the profession began to emphasize pharmaceutical care and define the role of the pharmacist, it was recognized that there was a paucity of data documenting the community pharmacist's role in ensuring safe medication use.
Pharmacists are in a unique position to improve medication safety because:
Pharmacists have the time and clinical expertise to make a difference in the way patients manage chronic conditions for which they may be taking multiple medications.
Pharmacists are an affordable and accessible health care resource. For many patients, it is probably easier to consult with a pharmacist than with a physician.
The community pharmacy often becomes the de facto community health center, with pharmacists acting as the first point of care.
Pharmacists already play an active role in educating patients on potential side effects of their medications and why it is important to take them exactly as prescribed.
About 125 pharmacists and doctors participated in the prestigious seminar.
The seminar was accredited by the ministry of health, UAE for 5 CME Hrs.