Univ of Findlay partners with pharmacy colleges to promote e-prescription records & widen job scope for Pharm D

University of Findlay, Ohio has now collaborated with pharmacy colleges in India to widen the scope of pharmaceutical care in the country. At the Manipal University and St. Peter's Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Warangal, University of Findlay’s College of Pharmacy has initiated global expert lectures and student exchange programmes where candidates get the required exposure about the advanced pharmacy practices in US. These include creation and maintenance of electronic prescription dispensing records and monitoring Narrow Therapeutic Index Drugs across patient population that can be replicated back home.

The objective of this initiative is to develop a pharmacy service platform to open up job opportunities where pharmacists could chip in their expertise to ensure safe medication practices. A lot needs to be done in India in pharmacy care. To begin with, the accessibility of electronic medical records across healthcare providers will be a big game changer in India’s medical practices.

In the current scenario, India faces an excess supply of Pharm D graduates over demand at hospitals. One way to ensure immediate employment opportunities is to set up Pharmacy Clinics manned by qualified Pharm D candidates. These could be set up in a small area within the existing pharmacy outlets, he added.

All that is needed is a computer, printer, along with blood pressure apparatus and blood test kits. The qualified pharmacist in-charge of this Pharmacy Clinic can ensure creation of prescription dispensing records of every order made at the chemist’s counter. Those patients on Schedule H and X drugs like anticoagulants, immunosuppressants and anti bacterials monitoring of Therapeutic Index will ensure if medication dose is effective, stall adverse events and improve treatment outcomes in India.

As part of the partnership with St Peter's Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Warangal, a pharmacy faculty from the University of Findlay set up an anticoagulation clinic at a small hospital to ascertain the Warfarin drug residual content among patients to prevent adverse reaction.

It is reported that of the 36,000 articles on medication errors published globally, only 35 such instances are seen to be from India. This clearly indicates gross under-reporting of adverse drug reactions because no records are maintained, he said.

In the US, pharmacists maintaining electronic prescription records and measuring INR (international normalized ratio) for anti-coagulant therapy are in vogue. If India’s Pharma D teams establish Pharmacy Clinics, patient outcomes will see a remarkable improvement.

Source: http://www.pharmabiz.com/NewsDetails.aspx?aid=93521&sid=1