The syllabus and duration of the two-year diploma course in pharmacy education in India is completely outdated and irrelevant in the present industry context. Since the industry and healthcare perspectives are changing with aggressive focus on innovation and a much wider scope, the pharmacy education should be more biological-oriented rather than a production-oriented, says Pankaj R Patel, chairman and managing director of Cadila Healthcare during 56th IPC in Kolkata.

While delivering the presidential address at the Congress' inaugural session, Patel emphasized that it was time to revamp the pharmacy education in the country with a positive and forward- looking perspective. "Pharmacist, as an educator, can give a new dimension to pharmacy education in the country. The scope is immense, starting from the framing of syllabi that is in sync with the times, chalking out programmes for the practicing pharmacists, initiating a process of learning which looks at the new role of the pharmacists to step beyond the narrow confines of the existing role and create a new space for themselves," he emphasized.

Commenting on the role of pharmacist as distributor, he said that the distributor pharmacist must address issues related with temperature and humidity control and documentation in storage and handling procedures. The inspection of incoming and outgoing product shipments, rotation of product to prevent expiration, employee training in storage and handling of pharmaceuticals, extensive background checks on employees procedures for handling recalls and returned goods, sanitation of facility and comprehensive written policies are all needed, he said.

Patel wanted pharmacist to take more care in assisting the management of chronic diseases. "Pharmacists can participate in blood glucose check up programmes and educate patients to help them lead normal, healthy lives. The pharmacist can also create awareness on diabetes related health concerns and continuously counsel the patients," he noted.

Pharmacist's role in infection control, their role as an interface between prescriber and patient were also stressed. Highlighting the importance of pharmacist in new drug development, he wanted pharmacoeconomic aspects to be considered by involving pharmacist in clinical trials and drug approval process.

Mentioning about the pharmacist's role in the new era of personalized medicine, he said that the future patients would be carefully screened and selected to qualify for treatment with personalized medicine. "This is where the pharmacist can play a key role by ensuring patient screening and counselling required for personalized medicine," he opined.

In a country like India, with more than 70,000 pharmaceutical formulations in the market, maintenance of standards for quality and preventing proliferation of counterfeit drugs is an uphill task. To address this challenge, we need to induct trained and technically qualified personnel in our regulatory bodies. It is important that as the healthcare industry globalizes its operations, the regulatory infrastructure in the country also be benchmarked with the best across the world, he added.