Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Geralde
School: Medina College
Malaysia
Pharmacy Practice in Malaysia
Pharmacy service in Malaysia came into existence in 1951 with the enactment of
three main legislation governing its profession: the Registration of Pharmacist Act
1951, Poison Act 1952, and Dangerous Drug Act 1952. The establishment of the basic
structure of pharmacy service within the public healthcare system in Malaysia can be
explained in part by the history of the country. During the British colonization,
pharmacy service in Malaysia was restricted primarily to the procurement, storage,
and distribution of drugs from the United Kingdom through the Crown Agents.
Following independence, pharmaceutical service in Malaysia has grown from
simply supplying the nation’s pharmaceuticals to regulating and ensuring the quality,
safety, and efficacy of pharmaceutical products. The establishment of a Drug Control
Authority (DCA) and its executive arm, National Pharmaceutical Control Bureau
(NPCB), under the Control of Drugs and Cosmetics Regulations 1984 gave rise to a
more systematic pharmaceutical regulatory system in Malaysia.
In the 1990s, further expansion of pharmacy service was hampered by the
shortage of pharmacists in the public workforce. Hence, in order to raise the number
of pharmacists in the country to the World Health Organization’s recommended
pharmacist-to-general population ratio of 1:2000 by the year 2020, governments have
taken measures to increase the number of local academic institutions offering
undergraduate pharmacy courses. In addition, the Ministry of Health and Pharmacy
Board amended the pharmacist registration process in 2005 to require a period of 4
years (which was then shortened to 2 years in 2011) of mandatory government service
in order to retain sufficient manpower in the public sector. The increase in the number
of pharmacists in the public sector had allowed the establishment and expansion of
clinical pharmacy service within the MoH.
The private sector is an important component in Malaysia’s healthcare system as
a health service provider, through private hospitals and clinics, laboratories, and
community pharmacies. There were 10,762 registered private doctors throughout the
country in the year 2011.Consultation, treatment, and medicine costs are charged
separately in private hospitals and clinics. There are approximately 1700 community
pharmacies in the whole country.10 Patients pay only the medication costs when they
visit to a community pharmacy; pharmacist consultation and dispensing services are
free of charge. Dispensing separation is not practiced in Malaysia, whereby private
doctors are allowed to dispense their medications.
Core Pharmacy Settings
Hospital Pharmacy
Industrial Pharmacy
Community Pharmacy
Manufacturing Pharmacy
Ambulatory Pharmacy
Indonesia
Pharmacy Practice in Indonesia
Since 1975, there has been a shift in the practice of pharmacy, initially being
product-oriented, to patient care. Changes in health care and pharmacy practice
provided good opportunities for pharmacists to indicate their function and show their
important role in the health sector. The mission of the pharmacy profession must
address the needs of society and individual patients. At one time, the acts of deciding
on drug therapy and implementing it were relatively simple, safe, and inexpensive.
The physician prescribed and the pharmacist dispensed. However, there is substantial
evidence to show that the traditional method of prescribing and dispensing medication
is no longer appropriate to ensure safety, effectiveness, and adherence to drug
therapy. Public health interventions, pharmaceutical care, rational drug use, and
effective management of pharmaceuticals are key components of a health care system
that is accessible, sustainable, affordable, and fair, to ensure efficacy, safety, and
quality of treatment.
Pharmacists in Indonesia have begun to engage in health promotion and public
health practice. One program in which pharmacists in hospitals participate is the
Hospital Community Health Education program (PKMRS/Penyuluhan Kesehatan
Masyarakat Rumah Sakit). This activity is an extension activity, or the provision of
information about the health of the community hospital (patient, family, and hospital
staff). Pharmacist Dr Sardjito Yogyakarta periodically participates in activities of the
PKMRS.
In addition to the PKMRS, pharmacists and students run community health
promotions through drug information centers in their respective institutions. Activities
undertaken may include health promotion, through Web sites, leaflets, etc., and
through outreach to the community. There is also a pharmacist (lecturer) who wrote a
book aimed at warning the public about the dangers of alcohol, how to choose a drug,
and a variety of tips on healthy living.
Core Pharmacy Settings
Hospital Pharmacy
Industrial Pharmacy
Community Pharmacy
Thailand
Hospital Pharmacy Practice
Before 1990, hospital pharmacy practice in Thailand was mainly responsible for
drug procurement, distribution, and dispensing of pharmaceutical products to hospital
inpatients and outpatients. The concept of clinical pharmacy and pharmaceutical care
were introduced to Thai hospital pharmacists in the early 1990s. Hospital pharmacy
practice has subsequently shifted the focus of their service from the product to patient
care in response to the PCT vision that “The philosophy of pharmaceutical care is the
ultimate goal of professional achievement.”
At present, Thai hospital pharmacy services are generally classified into four
categories: outpatient pharmacy service, inpatient pharmacy service, drug information
service, and other services (e.g., sterile products and chemotherapy, therapeutic drug
monitoring, and quality management), depending on the hospital size and resources.
Prior to 1990, the main services for outpatients and inpatient units were drug
dispensing and distribution. After the concept of pharmaceutical care was adopted, the
services for inpatient care focus more on clinical pharmacy activities such as ward-
rounding, medication reconciliation, and various types of drug therapy monitoring.
With the limited human and financial resources, daily dose distribution system is the
most common hospital drug distribution system in Thailand. Pharmaceutical care
services for special populations or specialties (e.g., cardiovascular diseases, cancer,
other chronic diseases) have also become more prevalent in hospital pharmacy
practice.
Community Pharmacy Practice
The major role of community pharmacists is to provide direct patient care for
people in the community. One of the most common activities is to supply over-the-
counter (OTC) drugs (household remedies and ready-packed drugs) to the patient. In
addition to the provision of OTC drugs for self-medication, community pharmacists
also perform triage and dispense nonprescription medicines for the treatment of minor
ailments.
Community pharmacy provides dispensing service for prescription medicines.
However, only small fraction of prescriptions is filled at a community pharmacy. This
is because drug prescribing and dispensing services are not formally separated in
Thailand. As a result,physicians in private clinics can both prescribe and dispense
medicines. Every hospital also has a pharmacy department to dispense medicines to
their outpatients. In some occasional circumstances when prescriptions are to be
dispensed in a community pharmacy, there is no dispensing fee. All prescriptions of
controlled substances and narcotic drugs need to be kept on file and the report of
purchasing and selling must be submitted to the FDA.
Philippines
Pharmacy Practice in Philippines
No person shall engage in the practice of pharmacy in the Philippines unless he is
at least twenty-one years of age, has satisfactorily passed the corresponding
examination given by the Board of Pharmacy, and is a holder of a valid certificate of
registration duly issued to him by said Board.
Core Pharmacy Settings
Community Pharmacy
Hospital Pharmacy
Retail Pharmacy
Regulatory Pharmacy
Compounding Pharmacy
Industrial Pharmacy
Singapore
Core Pharmacy Settings
Hospital Pharmacy
Ambulatory Pharmacy
Community Pharmacy
Brunei
Core Pharmacy Settings
Community Pharmacy
Hospital Clinical Pharmacy
Vietnam
Core Pharmacy Settings
Community Pharmacy
Hospital Pharmacy
Laos
Core Pharmacy Settings
Community Pharmacy
Hospital Pharmacy
Cambodia
Core Pharmacy Settings
Community Pharmacy
Hospital Pharmacy
Industrial Pharmacy
Myanmar
Core Pharmacy Settings
Clinical Research
Quality Control
Drug Discovery and Development
Regulatory process
Dispensing Drug and Production
How can the community pharmacy here in the Philippines adopt and improve?
Include pictures and captions.
1. Social Distancing
To limit the spread of COVID-19 infection, current official guidance
recommends that everyone stay six meters apart. Pharmacy teams must determine
how they will create measures to ensure that this is enforced for both patients and
colleagues. The advise also emphasizes the importance of high-risk individuals
adopting particularly strict social distancing behavior (i.e. those aged 70 years or over,
regardless of medical conditions, or those aged under 70 years with an underlying
health condition, such as heart disease or diabetes).
2. Maintaining Safe Staffing
It is important to have a contingency plan if the regular pharmacist is unable to
work. Essentially, this means that if a pharmacist falls ill and has to leave the
pharmacy, medicines that have been dispensed and checked by the pharmacist can be
provided to the patient; however, the regulator says that the pharmacy team is
expected to have access to a remote pharmacist who could be contacted by phone or
video.
If your regular staff are unable to work, it may be appropriate to train staff who
work in a different section of the pharmacy to assist in the dispensing of medicines.
Alternatively, it may be appropriate to contact former employees to see if they would
be willing to work in the pharmacy; however, this should be carefully considered as
some employees who have left work may be at a higher risk of COVID-19 if they left
because they are retired or owing to ill-health.