KOTA KINABALU: Assistant Minister to the Chief Minister Datuk Edward Khoo said a large number of indigenous plants and herbs in the state are believed to contain medicinal properties but have yet to be fully explored and researched into as viable ingredients for pharmaceutical purposes.
“With the establishment of the School of Medicine at Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), a School of Pharmacy could be set up to complement the training locally of medical professionals including pharmacists, to delve further into the area of pharmaceutical research and development,” he said, adding that changes would inevitably occur especially with the Ministry of Health seeking to undertake a transformation of the nation’s healthcare.
Khoo mentioned this in his speech at the 32th installation dinner of the Sabah Pharmaceutical Society on Sunday.
He went on to add that separating the task of prescribing from dispensing medicines contained in a new piece of legislation in the form of the new Pharmacy Act would not only bring about a new dimension and greater opportunity but also challenges to the pharmaceutical profession.
He lauded the move of liberalisation enabling provisionally registered pharmacists to undergo training in the private sector.
“It accords new pharmacists with greater opportunities to obtain the necessary training and provide them with a broader range of learning opportunities in the area of pharmaceutical manufacturing, academic, private hospitals and community pharmacies.”
He urged pharmacists to keep abreast of the changes taking place and to do their utmost to contribute towards the improvement of the nation’s healthcare service.
Meanwhile, Sabah Pharmaceutical Society president Susan Pan described the healthcare landscape of the nation as embarking on a process of transformation which would potentially bring changes and new opportunities to affect the pharmaceutical fraternity.
She explained that the transformation process includes the enforcement of the new Pharmacy Act which would repeal out dated legislations, the proposal by the Ministry of Health to implement the national healthcare plan (1 Care) that would bring about the long-awaited separation of dispensing from prescribing medicines and changes to the private community sector with franchising opportunities for community pharmacists.
She also said it has now become mandatory for pharmacists to accumulate sufficient points annually for the purpose of renewing their annual retention certificate which is viewed as a step to ensure pharmacists are keeping abreast with the latest development in medicine and disease management.
Pan said these efforts were put in place to raise the bar of the professional practise and urged pharmacists to become service oriented.
She said, efforts would be taken to strengthen the professional body by organising recruitment drives for membership and to focus on assisting members with the collection of sufficient Continuing Professional Development (CPD) points through consolidation and centralisation.
A symposium has also been planned for next year, adding that the society would conduct a training module for pharmacists on obesity management through ‘My Weight My Health’ provided by the Malaysian Pharmaceutical Society (MPS) in view of the rising obesity problem in the nation particularly amongst the younger generation.
The campaign will be held to educate the public on weight management and to help raise public awareness of the role of the pharmacist.
Also present at the event was MPS president Datuk Nancy Ho.