MPharm graduates wary of pharmacy practice Bill amendment

They oppose reserving clinical pharmacists’ posts for Pharm D graduates alone

The Union government recently gave the go-ahead for having clinical pharmacists, who besides dispensing drugs to patients also monitor and optimise their use based on each one’s health conditions, in hospitals and medical shops. But, not everyone is happy about it. The government amended Pharmacy Practice Regulations, 2015, to describe the position, title, and job responsibilities of clinical pharmacist and drug information pharmacist. A gazette notification was issued on July 5. However, MPharm Pharmacy Practice graduates who have been serving as clinical pharmacists for over two decades in health-care institutions have opposed a direction in the amendment to reserve these posts exclusively for Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm D) graduates. K.G. Ravikumar, former Head of the Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram, said that the council should have allowed both Pharm D and MPharm graduates to work as clinical pharmacists. “It would have helped professionalise pharmacy practice in medical shops, most of which now have only diploma or degree holders, and not trained pharmacists who can advise patients on safe use of drugs,” he said.