The future of pharmacy profession will not depend merely on dispensing of medication, but it will have the duties such as providing relevant drug information and drug therapy recommendations to the patients.

Likewise, the future pharmacist or a modern hospital pharmacist may have core knowledge about all kinds of medications, including their adverse effects, interactions, proper dosing and monitoring parameters, according to Dr Sunil Kumar Jain, chief pharmacist, AIIMS-Hospital, New Delhi and vice-president IPA, Delhi Branch.

He was speaking on “current scenario in pharmaceutical education and research” while addressing the national seminar at Hindu College of Pharmacy, Sonepat (Haryana). The event was jointly organized by the Association of Pharmacy Teachers of India, Haryana Branch and Indian Pharmaceutical Association, Delhi Branch.

Very shortly the responsibilities of the pharmacist may change into a different level as he understands the risks inherent in the medication management process and is able to identify areas of weakness. He will be fit enough to create or redesign the systems to improve the risk areas with his advanced professional skills and knowledge. The pharmacists can manage and improve drug therapy and quality of life for all sorts of patients, especially for geriatric patients. He can provide a variety of small but important services to the geriatric patients while taking prescription medication, Dr SK Jain said.

According to him a modern pharmacist will be familiar with electronic media, computer knowledge and counselling & communication skills. He should be able to provide patient oriented services which start from obtaining patients’ medication history, to feed back from the patient after discharge. There will be a vital triangular relationship among pharmacists, doctors and patients that may help improve patients' use of medicines and simplifying various complexities.

Dr Jain is of opinion that side effects of drugs may be due to wrong handling of drugs, improper patient counselling, adverse drug reaction, medication errors, lack of drug information available at Drug Information Centres, lack of quality assurance measures taken during drug testing and improper dispensing of medicines.

Further, he said a community pharmacist is a major source of information to the over the counter (OTC) users residing in the rural and backward areas. The pharmacist can convey his message to the OTC consumers through various modes. In short pharmacists are primary custodians of drugs and ensure safety and suitability by checking drug-drug and drug-food interactions.  According to the chief pharmacist, it is often difficult for a doctor to stay up-to-date on the latest breakthroughs in the pharmaceutical industry, but a specialist (modern pharmacist) can answer any questions regarding a new drug.

Dr Sanju Nanda, associate professor, Dept of Pharmaceutics, Maharishi Dayanand University, Rohtak was the guest of honour in the seminar. She spoke on the need 0of revolution required in pharma packaging industry.

Dr S Sardana, principal, Hindu College of Pharmacy, welcomed the professionals and future pharmacists to the seminar. He shared his views about the current trends in the field of pharmaceutical education and research.

Dr Manisha Vats, assistant professor, Hindu College of Pharmacy, spoke on “Biopiracy of Traditional Knowledge”. Scientific session was followed by the poster presentation session. Three best poster presenters were selected and authors were awarded by dignitaries.