Upholding the new draft health policy announced recently by the Union health ministry for having included pharmacy in the policy outline this time, the pharmacy experts in the academic and research sectors all over the country wanted more recognition and significance for the services of the pharmacy professionals in the healthcare institutions, R&D area and in the academic sector.

They have requested all the associations connected with pharmacy profession to send suggestions to the policy makers requesting them to incorporate pharmacy services in the health policy with due recognition, giving more importance to education sector.

The campaigning for more acknowledgement and significance has started from Ranchi in Jharkhand where the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences of the Birla Institute of Technology at Mesra is mobilising support of all the pharmacy educational institutions with the assistance of state pharmacy councils, said Dr R N Gupta, professor of the department.  

He said the pharmacy professional community wants to submit suggestions about pharmacy academic profession and the services of pharmacists in the hospitals. The policy framers are not well-informed of the pharmacy education in the country while outlining the draft, hence they have underestimated the significance of pharmacists’ role in healthcare matters. So, the policy makers should be informed of the progress in the pharmacy education going on in the country, especially about the education programmes such as Pharm D, PhD, M Pharm and B Pharm.

According to him, there are references about the services of pharmacists in nine places in the draft report, but they are not properly acknowledged.

In the ‘human resource development’ section (2.15), medical, ANM, nursing and technicians are stated. The pharmacists' role is stated for namesake only. Here, emphasis should be on four specialised categories of pharmacists,  i.e, Pharm D, PhD, M Pharm and B Pharm, besides D Pharm.

In the section of ‘national disease control programme’ (4.3.7), role of pharmacists can be included as counsellor because of his expertise in the subject. it may be included along with  physicians.

In ‘human resource for health’ (5.7), pharmacist is considered as a paramedical staff along with ayush doctors, nurses, GNM etc. Whereas, the knowledge of pharmacist about medicine is much more than  ayush doctors and nurses. Pharmacists are equated with ayush doctors, nurses and  GNM.  It has to be corrected by informing pharmacy curriculum.

In sections (5.8) (5.11), the role of nurses and their strength are elaborated separately. But nothing is written about pharmacists’ role, and  pharmacists  have been put along with physiotherapists, laboratory technicians , audiometrists,  optometrist, radiologist…etc.

Pharmacists with PhD, M Pharm and B Pharm qualifications are to be suggested for the profession of drug research, manufacture and quality assurance. But the new draft has ignored their roles.

Revival of public sector drugs manufacturing units must find place in the policy. Suggestion should also be made for separate Directorate for Pharmacy in central and state levels.

Additionally, suggestions have to be made on the regulatory framework for education. PCI should be strengthened and state pharmacy councils should work under the direction of PCI.