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Pharmacy professionals from 14 states in
the country, who assembled at Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala last Sunday
under the banner of All India Public and Private Sector Pharmacists
Association (AIPPSPA), decided to apprise the union government and the
pharmacy profession regulator, the Pharmacy Council of India (PCI), that
a unified qualification framework is needed for the post of pharmacist
or pharmacy officer in all the departments across the country.
In
several sectors, the qualification of pharmacist is diploma in pharmacy
(D Pharm) and in certain other sectors, it is degree (B Pharm). In the
wake of Pharm D, some prominent posts of pharmacists (clinical
pharmacist, drug information officer, etc) have been reserved for
postgraduates.
At the PCI level, steps like amendments in
Pharmacy Act and recommendations to the government are the two basic
things to be initiated urgently. Raising this demand, the association
will submit memorandums to the Union health ministry and to the PCI very
soon. The association has entrusted the responsibility for submission
of the memorandum to BS Desai, national president of the association.
Talking
to Pharmabiz after the meeting, Desai said, currently the basic
qualification of the pharmacist post is diploma in pharmacy (D Pharm),
but degree holders and PG holders in pharmaceutical sciences are also
working as pharmacists. The Pharmacy Practice Regulations (PPR) 2015
wants only degree holders as pharmacists. It is the duty of the PCI to
amend the rule to that effect and recommend to the government to enact
it. Desai said, for the upliftment of the profession, a unification in
the qualification structure is essential all over the country.
Similarly, pay-scale should also be unified. Secondly, every state government should create a department of pharmacy,
and the post of director of the department should be reserved as a
promotional post from the pharmacist hierarchy. This will support the
development of the pharmacy profession which will in turn support the
overall development of the healthcare management system. He said this is
a long-standing demand of the pharmacy professionals, but now under the
banner of AIPPSPA, pharmacists will hold rallies in all the state
headquarters raising this demand.
Another demand is that each
state government should start degree colleges for pharmacy, as
government degree colleges are very few in number at present. He said in
Karnataka, there is only one pharmacy degree college under the
government. All over India, both B Pharm and D Pharm colleges are under
private management. Lack of government degree colleges is a hurdle to
the growth of quality pharmacy education. A memorandum in this regard
will be submitted to each state government by the respective branches of
the association. Click Here:https://www.pharmabiz.com/NewsDetails.aspx?aid=174029&sid=1
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