By June Cheong
Pharmacists' duties range from managing drug therapy, coordinating drug trials to approving drugs for sale in Singapore. MYB checks out their different roles
Pharmacists do more than just stick labels on bottles before dispensing the medicine.
Their job includes approving what drugs can be sold in Singapore, conducting research into new drugs and coordinating drug licensing applications and drug inventories.
They are also often directly involved in patient care.
"A good pharmacist focuses on the patient's needs and works closely with other health-care professionals to get the best outcome," said Mr Lim Mun Moon, head of the pharmacy department at Singapore General Hospital.
Pharmacists are experts in the science and clinical use of medication and understand a great deal about the composition of drugs, their manufacture and various uses.
Of course, they are not infallible.
Earlier this month, The Straits Times reported that two pharmacists at KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH) had mixed up the dosage calibration for two cancer patients, leading them to receive more chemotherapy drugs than they were supposed to get.
When asked how such medication errors can occur, Associate Professor Chan Sui Yong, who is head of the department of pharmacy at the National University of Singapore, said: "When such mistakes happen, all the safety checks have failed. What's important then is to tighten the safeguards."
That is just what KKH has done.
Since the incidents, the hospital has decided to use only one type of pump for cancer patients. The other type, which dispenses medicine in hours instead of days and was mistakenly used for the two cancer patients, will now be used for other purposes like dispensing antibiotics.
Pharmacists work in many different settings, including hospitals, drug manufacturing firms and universities.
Community pharmacists – like those who work in private pharmacies such as Guardian Pharmacy and NTUC Healthcare – provide medication and health-related services to patients and the public.
They dispense medicine based on doctors' prescriptions, provide drug information to patients, advise them on self-medication and may even run counselling services like smoking cessation programmes.
Hospital pharmacists have a range of duties as part of a health-care team, from attending ward rounds with doctors, selecting and managing the drug therapy of patients to managing the purchase, distribution and inventory of medicines for the hospital.
Mr Lim said the pharmacies in SingHealth hospitals like Changi General Hospital and Singapore General Hospital serve between 1,000 and 2,000 outpatients and between 800 and 1,600 inpatients every day.
Pharmacists working in the pharmaceutical industry can perform a variety of roles, from marketing and sales to research.
Research pharmacists coordinate and manage pharmaceutical aspects of clinical drug trials to ensure patients in such trials get the correct medication in the correct doses.
Regulatory pharmacists in the private sector are involved in drug development and marketing. Those in the public sector evaluate or approve drugs for sale in Singapore.
There are also academic pharmacists who teach and train future generations of pharmacists. They may conduct research work too.
There are 1,654 registered pharmacists in Singapore.
While private online stores are not licensed to sell medical drugs here, a few hospitals have set up online pharmacies to better serve their patients.
Ms Wong Hai Hong, manager of the pharmacy department at Changi General Hospital, said of the hospital's online pharmacy (www. mypharmacy.com.sg): "It carries non-medication items such as skincare products, health supplements and diapers.
"Another group of mypharmacy's users are our hospital's patients who are prescribed relatively expensive or long-term medication. They can lodge their prescriptions with us and gradually draw the quantity that they need."
Pharmacists practising here will need to have a degree in pharmacy recognised by the Singapore Pharmacy Council (SPC), undergo pre-registration training, pass the SPC competency examination and be registered with the council.
In addition, pharmacists are required to participate in compulsory continuing professional education.
Ms Tan Mui Ling, the coordinator of professional placements in the department of pharmacy at the National University of Singapore, said: "You need to be a lifelong learner because there are so many new developments all the time. You need to keep up with these to do your job well."
Dr Andrea Kwa, a senior principal clinical pharmacist at the Singapore General Hospital, said a good pharmacist is forward-looking and is not afraid of working on new areas of research.
Dr Kwa, who was recently awarded the Professor Lucy Wan Outstanding Pharmacist Award 2009, the highest award given by the Pharmaceutical Society of Singapore to local pharmacists, said: "Pharmacists can fill the big translational gap in medicine and translate science in laboratories to that applied at the patient's bedside."
While doctors have the Hippocratic Oath, pharmacists have their own Code of Ethics and The Pharmacist's Pledge to stand by.
The former includes rules of conduct like making the care of patients the pharmacist's first consideration and complying with legal requirements and professional standards. The latter comprises 10 statements formulated around the word "pharma- cist" and describes the values – like honesty, integrity and compassion – pharmacists registered with SPC should embrace.
When asked what makes a good pharmacist, Ms Mariam Alkhatib, a pharmacy practice manager at NTUC Healthcare, said: "Community pharmacists work closely with customers, patients and other health-care professionals. Thus it is important that they enjoy interacting with people, are good listeners and can communicate well.
"They need to be caring and show empathy for others as they will be frequently approached by patients with health or medical concerns."
Ms Tan added: "You need to be a good decision-maker. For example, if you work with the health sciences authorities, you have to decide what drugs to approve for use in Singapore and which drugs are most cost-effective.
"Pharmacists are not just medicine dispensers."
There are 1,654 registered pharmacists in Singapore.
1 Community pharmacists work in private pharmacies and dispense medicine based on doctors' prescriptions. They also provide drug information to patients and advise them on self-medication.
2 Pharmacists in the pharmaceutical industry perform a variety of roles from marketing and sales to research.
3 Research pharmacists coordinate and manage the pharmaceutical aspects of clinical drug trials to ensure patients in such trials get the correct medication in the right doses.
4 Regulatory pharmacists in the private sector are involved in drug development and marketing. Those in the public sector evaluate or approve drugs for sale in Singapore.
5 Hospital pharmacists' duties range from attending ward rounds with doctors, selecting and managing the drug therapy of patients to managing the purchase, distribution and inventory of medicines for the hospital.
6 Academic pharmacists teach and train future generations of pharmacists and may also be involved in research work.