World Pharmacists Day: Pharmacists urged to educate patients on drugs’ use

Professor also speaks on the principles of medication therapy management.

KARACHI: The perception that patients are only interested in buying low-cost medicines is wrong as they are also very much eager to learn the use of these medicines. Thus, providing drug education and information to the patients is the job of the pharmacists.

This was said by Muhammad Umair, a faculty member of the pharmacy department at the University of Karachi (KU), on Wednesday.

The event aimed at marking the World Pharmacists Day (WPD) for the first time in the history of the pharmacy profession in Pakistan was organised at the Shaikh Zayed Auditorium in the KU.



Cooperation among health professionals, communication with the patients and use of medication in accordance with evidence-based guidelines were the three main principles of the Medication Therapy Management (MTM), said Umair.

Highlighting the importance of the MTM, he was of the opinion that it was a valid tool to maximise the outcome.

In his presentation, he told the audience that over 1.5 million preventable adverse drugs cases occur in the United States each year. “Taking medicines without having proper knowledge of it is like building a house without a plan.”

Hilton Pharma Limited chairperson and chief guest Sardar Yasin Malik said that students must pay attention to anything unusual as it was the demand of the profession. “The doors of a company and jail are both open for you, just choose wisely,” he advised.

KU acting vice-chancellor, Prof. Dr Abuzar Wajidi, said that the university received over 3,000 applications for admissions every year in the pharmacy department. “The day is marked to initiate a new beginning of a healthy environment and society.”

After the presentation and speeches, pharmacy students presented a dramatic depiction of the stages of life of a pharmacist, focussing on the difference between the educational and professional lives. The theatrical drama received loud cheers as every student sitting in the packed hall could to relate to it.

Subsequently, a panel discussion was organised to discuss the importance of the field and the challenges to be faced by students in the coming years. “People are recognised by their work. It’s not the degree which counts, it’s the person behind the degree which counts,” said Izhar Hussain, the director of the Centre for Executive Education, IBA, Karachi.

KU syndicate member and associate professor, Harris Shoaib, was of the view that one of the reasons why Pakistan was lacking behind in the field was because pharmacists were not considered the final authority. “The legal system should be made stronger.”

The students showed excitement and enthusiasm over the WPD being celebrated for the first time in their department. Sana Batool, a fourth year student in the pharmacy department, said that as a pharmacist, she would continue to explore new horizons to make others people’s lives easy.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 27^th, 2013.