The president of the Federation of Asian Pharmaceutical Association (FAPA), Soo Ja Nam, has commented that the standard and status of Pharmacists working in the Asian Countries have to be improved so much to have an equal status with those of working in Western Countries. The Pharmacists and other stakeholders in the pharma sector across the world should work for the establishment of a Uniform Pharmacy Practice Culture for the betterment of the status of the medicine dispensers all over the world.

In an exclusive interview with Pharmabiz, Soo Ja Nam said major differences can be seen in the operation of Pharmacies in community and hospital levels, in the educational system, in the syllabi and in the attitude of doctors towards the pharmacists working in these two sides of the world. Image of pharmacists in the Asian countries is entirely different from the west and, more changes need to be made in various sectors of the healthcare system to better the position of the people working in the pharmacy.

Soo was in Chennai recently to attend a seminar held as part of the IPA Convention 2010. FAPA is a conglomeration of Pharmacy Associations working in 18 countries in the Asia region.

According to her, in US, the pharmacists have equal status with the doctors. They have the freedom to change the prescription of a brand to a generic. The doctors and the pharmacists are working like one team for the healthcare system in western countries, she said.

In Korea, the situation is different. A pharmacist in that country is not having the right to change the prescription from a brand to a generic. "The drug may be the same. But the doctors don't want to change their prescriptions, even for the same medicine produced by two companies. The doctors are acting like advocates of certain manufacturing companies. They want to dispense the drugs as prescribed by them only. Pharmacists have the right to change a prescription if the medicine is the same and produced by different companies. This is a major challenge pharmacists in Korea face now a days," president of FAPA told this reporter.

More than 70 per cent of the working pharmacists in Korea are community pharmacists, and only 30 per cent is engaged in the operations of hospitals, industry, regulatory divisions and education.

She said in India, the pharmacy education is largely meant for industry purpose. More benefits are for industry. But the six year Pharm D course will help improve the status of the pharmacists on par with the pharmacists in the west.

Regarding pharmacy education, FAPA president said the pharmacy education must be unified which will help for a uniform pharmacy practice across the world. In India the pharmacy practice has to be improved a lot to reach the position of the work culture of US and UK.

FAPA is supportive to uniform pharmacy practice and it has decided to send suggestions and proposals to each member country for a uniform curriculum. Korea is following the same curriculum as what is followed in US and UK.

In Japan and in Korea Pharm D course has started recently. "We are suggesting to each member country to start the Pharma D course to establish a Uniform Pharmacy Practice Culture across the world. In next few years, the job opportunities in Asian countries will increase. Unlike Korea, doctors in Japan are having high regard for pharmacists," Soo said.

In Malaysia and in Thailand, there are shortages of pharmacists. The situation will improve in next years. In Malaysia, the government and the school of pharmacies are now engaged in the task of increasing the number of students of pharmacies.