[e-drug] Motivating Pharmacists for Enhanced Contribution in Healthcare

["Kibumba George" <kibumba@yahoo.com>]

E-DRUG: Motivating Pharmacists for Enhanced Contribution in Healthcare
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Dear Sir/Madam,

In many countries, there is no doubt about this.  There is no doubt that pharmacists seem to be struggling to obtain a niche in the real world of service provision.  Yet, again, there is no doubt that effective use of pharmacists in health organisations blossoms health care provision.  Many studies to this effect have been done, and e-drug users have quoted them. 

Once more, the things to do in order to affect use of treatments are too many to be performed by just one specialist. There is need for division of labour. So division of labour in this sense isn't disintegrating effort; it is dividing labour for effectiveness and efficiency.

Now, because pharmacists are struggling, they are generally not motivated.  They grumble, complain, and feel bad.  This applies to many in most countries.  Any human being subjected to the situation in which they are will follow suit too.  On the other hand, doctors are generally super, over motivated.  

One then obtains urge to borrow a leaf from concepts of job enlargement, enrichment.

Real job enlargement and enrichment will aid pharmacists to rightly deliver their services to people.  And this should be at both organisational and society levels.  Question is how to we do it? Here is an idea which you may have heard about time and again.  And equal pay for pharmacists and doctors is part of it.

Let doctors do the clinical assessments; and all arrangements associated with identifying factors which trouble sick people. So, whenever consumers perceive a need for these services, they should approach a doctor or other current legal prescribers other than pharmacists.  The use of the word diagnosis has been avoided for tactical reasons.

Let pharmacists select the therapies and do associated services as well-by law.  This includes choosing drug, dosage form, route, amount and frequency (with pharmacokinetic manipulation where applicable), and duration and all associated arrangements.   

Key equally related elements involve enlarging aspects of procurement, inventory management such that pharmacy schools which lack these things in their curriculum need to incorporate them.  This is needed for the dynamics of change in the near future.  Please withhold the word prescribe, again for tactical reasons.

When those two arrangements are put in place, the approach will most likely yield more advantages than just delivering a rightly needed service to peoples of the world.

Pharmacists will receive a real share of power in healthcare delivery. This power will motivate them just as other professionals are. The authority will give them bargaining ability with their peers in heath service delivery.  They will authoritatively, openly influence treatment outcomes to the benefit of healthcare systems as well as to the benefit of consumers at large. In addition, it will enhance the quality of communication between professionals who diagnose, and pharmacists.

In essence pharmacists selecting medicines for patients will aid us to obtain intrinsic impetus to go to our places of work every morning.  You and I, your relatives and friends will benefit.

Please be free to make any helpful comments about these issues.

George Kibumba,
Msc. Student, Sept 2004-Sept 2005.
Pharmaceutical Services and Medicines Control,
University of Bradford,
BD7 1DP.  
United Kingdom.
kibumba@yahoo.com