WEBINAR-4.0 ON “IGNORANCE OF PHARMACY AND THERAPEUTICS COMMITTEE IN HOSPITALS IN THE MANAGEMENT OF COVID-19: A POSSIBLE CAUSE OF RAMPANT DEATHS”

6^thJune 2020

Lloyd Institute of Management and Technology (Pharm) conducted its fourth webinar of Covid-19 webinar series, on 06th June, 2020. The theme of the Webinar-4.0 was “Ignorance of Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee in Hospitals in the Management of Covid-19: A Possible Cause of Rampant Deaths”.

The webinar was done in collaboration with Delhi Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research University (DPSRU), New Delhi first university of Pharmaceutical Sciences in India. Prof Ramesh K. Goyal, Hon’ble Vice-Chancellor, DPSRU was the resource person who shared his perspectives on the topic. Around 600 participants from 75 different colleges including medical professionals from all over the Country participated in the event. The event was conducted through ZOOM portal and was live on YouTube channel.

The purpose of Webinar-4.0 was to explore the present and the future role of pharmacists, not only in manufacturing, quality control and dispensing of medicines and medical devices but also ensuring better patient care and safe and efficacious use of medicines, by being a part of the Healthcare team.

Prof. Goyal said that by bringing pharmacists into mainstream health line workers, the pharmacists can shoulder the responsibility of Doctors and medical professionals in these trying times and this may inturn lead to avoidance of complications, minimize medication errors and ensure patient safety and increased survival rate particularly in times like Covid Pandemic.

Prof. Goyal began his discussion with a brief description of deadly face of Covid-19 elaborating the great loss to human life caused by it till date and fear of figures still exploding in near future. He stated that pharmacy is just not about drugs it covers the entire health care. The pharmacists have given to the society drugs as well as other popular products like coca cola, pepsi and ginger ale. During the Covid times also they have a lot to contribute in terms of drug discovery, diagnostic kits, vaccine discovery, repurposing of drug, patient counseling, social awareness on the disease, understanding and helping the doctors in selection and rationale use of drugs particularly in treatment of comorbid conditions. Besides he said that there is tremendous scope in the bio similar markets and medical devices. Solution to corona will also come through Pharmacists only be it a vaccine, drug or diagnostics.

He said that it is a pitty that in India most hospitals do not have Hospital and Clinical Pharmacists. The Covid-19 virus has complicated dynamics and the etiology may vary from individual to individual, hence the treatment approach needs to be individualized and this can be most effectively worked out by a joint effort between pharmacists and doctors. It is well evidenced that Pharmacists involvement in disease management gives better outcomes. Further publishing and presenting our successes will pave the way for the future.

He further said the Pharmacy and therapeutics committee in most of the hospitals have limited functions of formulary management and reviewing the cost of treatment. The time is now ripe for it to reinvent itself both in terms of constitution and functions and assume its undermined functions in the larger interest of the patient health and benefit from the treatment.

He said that PCI has made remarkable and valid changes in the pharmacy curriculum and their efforts are commendable but still needs to work upon incorporation of hospital and clinical pharmacy components in the syllabus. In fact he suggested that after one or two years of general study why not we have specialized separate branches just like honors courses in normal graduation to add to the technical expertise of the students.

Addressing the students from this platform he said that the students should focus on acquiring skills during the course of study and once they do so and are competent enough there is no dearth of jobs for them. Towards the end of his talk he said that his single message to the fellow pharmacists from this platform is: “to join hands with other healthcare workers and together make INDIA corona free”.

The session was concluded with a series of interesting questions from audience. The discussion was summed up by the moderator for the session Dr. Chitra Gupta, who concluded that Pharmacists are an important link in the healthcare system and are inseparable. Together with the frontline healthcare workers and doctors they can help in achieving good health for all. Their role becomes all the more significant in situations like pandemic, Covid-19, in terms of ensuring drug safety, constant surveillance and Pharmacovigilance. In hospital settings the PTC as an advisory board needs to provide the necessary drug information to the doctors and at the same time analyse the risk benefit ratio of a particular drug. Clinical pharmacists together with doctors can create an ecosystem for a healthy society. In nut shell “Expanding the role of pharmacists in patient care and hospitals can ensure a better healthcare system”.

All together the event was a grand success as could be understood from the feedback, messages, mails received and chats during the session.