Indian Pharmaceutical Association (IPA) is planning a year long awareness programme based on the theme “improving access to medicines through pharmacists.” The national programme will be launched on November 17, 2002 as part of the National Pharmacy Week celebrations and continue throughout the year.
IPA has informed its 60 state and local branches to go for a uniform
campaign from November. A special committee has drawn-up background material (for the sake of uniformity of key messages) for the speech to be delivered by the Presidents of the state/local branches at the NPW 2002 function and designed a logo with key message which can be used for making banners, posters, placards, stickers, and other publicity articles (like stationary items, coffee-mugs, tea-cup, caps, ties, key chains etc).
The entire programme would be based on the spirit of the 'Jaipur declaration for essential medicines' jointly made by the Delhi Society for Promotion of Rational Use of Drugs (DSPRUD), the Rajasthan Society for Promotion of Rational Use of Drugs (RSPRUD), the WHO-India ssential Drugs Programme, the Delhi Pharmaceutical Trust (DPT), SEARPharm Forum and the All India Organization of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD) few months back.
The Jaipur declaration has emphasized the need for improving access to
medicines and their safe and effective utilization by the vast population of the country and felt that the existing community pharmacists can be important instruments in bringing about this change.
It had noted that 'in order to enable such persons to discharge their
functions properly, the community pharmacists in India should be provided with theoretical and practical knowledge to initiate or modify drug/non drug therapies by independent action (non-prescription drugs that can be provided by pharmacists without a prescription; non drug therapies, e.g. life style changes, medical devices); and collaborative action (always for medically prescribed drugs)'.
Training on preparation and supply medication for use (including selection of drug products, prescription assessment, dispensing, compounding, packaging, labeling); design and implement pharmaceutical care plan (education, counseling); design and monitor procurement and drug distribution systems, including storage and disposal (e.g. country wide, local, institutional); educate all health professionals who participate in pharmaceutical care; participate in health promotion and education; and establish appropriate practice guidelines and standards are all part of the programme that are to be initiated during the year.
As a beginning, the existing community pharmacists are to be provided with continuing education facilities on priority basis in areas like basic information about common diseases and their pathophysiology, standard treatment guidelines for common diseases; basic patient counseling for improving compliance; essential knowledge on health education, prevention of disease, national health programs, family planning, preventive methods for deadly communicable diseases like tuberculosis, AIDS etc.
IPA has, in cooperation with DSPRUD, WHO-India Essential Drugs Program,
RSPRUD, DPT, SEARPharm Forum and AIOCD drawn up a set of guiding principles for community pharmacists to enable them to achieve the objectives of the Jaipur Declaration.