Need to adopt focused approach to impart pharmacy education, keep curriculum in line with latest developments: MoS Pawar

Dr. Bharati Pravin Pawar, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, stated on Monday that the need of the hour is to shift gears and adopt a focused approach to imparting the best pharmacy education while keeping our curriculum in line with the latest developments in the field, as well as providing extensive education of specialised drugs to benefit the reach of pharmacists in the country.

On the occasion of National Pharmacy Education Day, Dr. Bharati Pravin Pawar launched Pharma Anveshan-2023. The day commemorates Prof. ML Shroff’s birth anniversary as the father of Pharmacy Education in India.

The event was organised with the goal of providing a platform for sharing academic research with industry and exchanging the benefits of research outcomes. This can aid in the exploration of commercial applications based on the interlinking of academia and industry.

Bharati Pravin Pawar congratulated the Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) on organising “Pharma Anveshan 2023” to promote research and innovation and to strengthen industry-academia collaboration.

She discussed the contributions of “Prof ML Schroff” in this field, stating “A pharmacist is just as important as doctors and nurses in helping patients get treated for diseases and other health concerns. Pharmacists know the science of medicine in and out. They ensure that the patients get the right dose of life-saving prescriptions. By educating a patient and making sure their prescription is safe to take with their other health conditions and medications, pharmacists improve their quality of life and possibly even save a life. During the COVID pandemic, Pharmacists played a vital role in maintaining the supply chain of essential medicines.”

Reiterating Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s words – “innovation should not only be the goal of our science, but innovation should also drive the scientific process forward”, she urged everyone to work on need-based medicine manufacturing and emphasized the crucial role of Pharmacists in the battle against AMR (Antimicrobial Resistance).

She also suggested PCI and pharmacy institutes create awareness about drugs and their usage, the importance of hygiene, community disease prevention, survey and data collection.

Dr Pawar further highlighted that under the visionary leadership of PM Modi, the Government of India has successfully laid the foundation to tackle the challenges related to the health system of the country. The government of India has prioritized developing its human resources towards developing a resilient, efficient and adaptive healthcare system.

Accentuating the future healthcare landscape need, Dr Pawar accentuated the pivotal role of pharmacists in the future of healthcare, evolving beyond dispensing medicines and becoming an essential part of your healthcare team.
She said, “Patient counselling and maintaining patient medical history can also be our focus area for better utilization of medicines and reducing adverse events. Doing so will help reduce the cost of treatment.”

The MoS emphasized that it is necessary for PCI not only to keep pace with global changes but also to lead research in this area so that the Indian pharmacy sector leads the world in innovation.

She also launched a ‘One Stop-Non Stop’ digital job portal of the Pharmacy Council of India, which will be useful for pharma professionals as well as recruiters from the industry. This will prove to be a game changer for the students coming from small towns and villages.

At the event, PCI also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Karnataka Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Manufacturer’s Association (KDPMA), Life Sciences Sector Skill Development Council, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (LSSSDC), Indian Pharma Alliance (IPA) and Federation of Pharma Entrepreneurs (FOPE) to reduce the gap of industry and academia, strengthen faculty and student training and promote entrepreneurship and infrastructure development.