With a view to highlight the importance of pharmacists in the society, the Indian Pharmaceutical Association (IPA) has flagged off the 53rd National Pharmacy Week (NPW) with key focus on responsible use of medicines and role of pharmacists in it. Every year the IPA celebrates the national pharmacy week (NPW) all over India in the third week of November. The purpose of the pharmacy week is to create awareness about the pharmacy profession, role of the pharmacist amongst the public and among the authorities.
This year IPA has decided to organise various activities such as exhibitions, lectures for the public, street plays, rallies etc on responsible use of medicines across different IPA branches, pharmacy colleges on this occasion. This year the NPW falls between November 16 to 23.
This year IPA, the parent professional association of pharmacy professionals in India is celebrating its platinum jubilee year. experts stressed that modern medicines are like double edged swords of great benefit if used correctly, but can cause harm if used incorrectly. The overuse, under use or misuse of medicines results in wastage of scarce resources and widespread health hazards. “Thus it becomes imperative to ensure that these medicines are used appropriately for the larger interest of the patients and this is where pharmacists can play a greater role of a counsellor giving guidance on its use and miss use,” says IPA.
According to the WHO, more than a half of the patients do not take their medicines appropriately. According to them ministerial summit held by International Pharmaceutical Federation in 2012, billions of dollars can be saved if medicine usage is done responsibly. Irrational use of medicines leads to so many consequences, which lead to delayed recovery, continuance of agonies and discomforts, often increased expenses, hospitalisations, and even avoidable deaths. Therefore, educating public to use medicines responsibly is an essential task and pharmacists have an important role to play in this task. Responsible use of medicines brings benefit to the individual, society as well as to the national health budget.
Interestingly, IPA has created a variety of consumer educational materials for the NPW, which are available on their website under the national pharmacy week 2014, along with educational posters which are made in regional languages too for better sensitisation.