Since 2009, 25th September has been celebrated as World Pharmacists’ Day, in commemoration of the 1912 establishment of the International Pharmaceutical Federation. It is the day that the role of the pharmacist is celebrated in as far their contribution to the ever changing and growing global health system.
Think Health, Think Pharmacist
This year, it will be celebrated under the theme, ‘Think Health, Think Pharmacist’, underlining the growing need more than ever to involve qualified pharmacists in the crucial points of the global health system that has for the past decade or so, grown by leaps and bounds.
Pharmacists at the Frontline of Information
While the health system suffers from varying levels of fragility all over the world and external factors such as political climate, financial stability and climate change, the most crucial and universal threat is the prevalence of information in the digital era. This makes the need for well-trained pharmacists crucial. This would reduce the harm that can result from disinformation since pharmacists quite often are at the first contact of patients with the healthcare system in this part of the world.
In developing countries, due to financial constraints, it is tempting to replace pharmacists with other para-professionals, even for tasks and roles that would be the preserve of trained pharmacists. While a quick buck is saved in the short term, the possibility of costly consequences is a matter of when and not if. The eventual cost is not only financial, but human as well.
Pharmacy in Oncology: A Unique Calling
In the oncology space, the role of the pharmacist is not only becoming clearer by the day, but also more engaging than probably most other practice spaces in which pharmacists thrive.
While we are safe from illegible handwriting, impatient patients and the like, we are charged with the responsibility of handling dangerous and hazardous chemo drugs, and appropriately preparing them for administration to the patient, a process whose room for error is zero for both the safety of the patient as well as the health of the pharmacist.
Cancer treatments and care are always rapidly evolving, this makes oncology practice very exciting, however, the pharmacist being the custodian of knowledge on drugs, is kept on his toes to keep abreast of the latest knowledge and technologies in cancer care. This, coupled with the multi-disciplinary nature of cancer care teams, makes the pharmacist not only a life long learner, but also a life-long teacher. Possession of skills to teach others have a ripple effect and can be the difference between a good care team and an excellent care team.
The Future of Oncology Pharmacy
In this part of the world, futuristically speaking, tumor boards will eventually be instituted, and thus the role of the pharmacist will further expand beyond simply execution of treatment plans to include contribution to the making of the treatment plans themselves. This will relieve the currently overwhelmed oncologists while also ensuring that their skills can fluently be passed on to the rest of the lower cadres. Per Medicatum Servium.
Celebrating Our Pharmacy Team
This article was written by the Pharmacy team at 3Rivers Cancer Centre. We thank you Ivan, Hadad and Gerald for your excellent service and hard-working spirit in our Pharmacy Department!
