KUWAIT CITY, June 26: Kuwait Pharmaceutical Association President Dr. Ahmed Taqi has called for the expansion of pharmaceutical services in the country to include clinical pharmacy, supply, storage, and drug inspection, aside from dispensing medicines. In an exclusive interview with the newspaper, Taqi revealed that work is underway to launch a pharmacy consultation room service in hospitals to relieve pressure on doctors assigned to clinics. He explained that this will involve pharmacists reviewing simple medical cases and referring other cases to specialists.
He also disclosed that a strategic study is being conducted on the establishment of a public-private partnership for dispensing prescriptions to patients in hospitals and public clinics through private pharmacies. He believes this will enhance competitiveness among private pharmacies and contribute to alleviating the burden on public pharmacies, in addition to ensuring the provision of medicines and reducing prices in private pharmacies. He confirmed as well the finalization of a draft of the new Pharmacy Practice Law to guarantee the expansion of pharmaceutical services and broader powers for pharmacists in the country.
He said this law is a top priority for the association in the coming period, indicating that the final touches are being put on the draft law, which he expects to be implemented by the end of this year. He said the existing law was passed in 1996 -- about 30 years ago -- when the number of pharmacist graduates did not exceed 80, and there were no more than 100 private pharmacies. “Now, the number of pharmacists exceeds 2,200, and there are about 600 private pharmacies. This necessitates amending the law and adding new articles to expand pharmaceutical services, as the number of articles in the previous law did not exceed 16,” he clarified. He stressed the importance of involving private pharmacies in the country’s health system, revealing that a plan is being studied to dispense government prescriptions in private pharmacies, which could contribute to reducing the burden on patients and public pharmacies as well. He pointed out that this experiment was implemented in neighboring countries years ago, and its implementation in Kuwait is currently being studied. “However, it requires a lot of time and effort to implement a unified electronic prescription system for dispensing medicines, electronically link private and government pharmacies, and take other steps that precede the implementation of the experiment. Following is an excerpt of the interview
Question: First, tell us about the most important steps you took during your first six months as president of the association.
Answer: After forming the association’s Board of Directors at the end of December, we followed a clear strategy to strengthen the relationship of the association with decision-makers. Our first step was to meet with Minister of Health Dr. Ahmed Al- Awadhi, as he is the head of the health sector. During the meeting, we discussed pharmaceutical challenges, plans and priorities for the next phase. Our plan is based on working along three parallel lines. First is the development of human resources -- the pharmacists. We believe that the advancement of the profession begins with the development of the pharmacists. Therefore, our plan relies on investing in pharmacists by providing opportunities for continuing professional education and developing technical skills, such as dealing with the work team and facing challenges, as well as supporting training, management and leadership programs. The second line is supporting the social aspect of pharmacists to work as a team in order to overcome challenges and realize the aspirations of the pharmacist community. The third line is coordination with decision-makers to find effective ways to overcome the challenges that the profession is currently facing. Providing job opportunities for pharmacists is one of the most important challenges that the association is facing now. The current number of Kuwaiti pharmacists is around 2,200; and the number of pharmacy graduates from Kuwaiti and foreign universities this year is expected to reach around 5,000. This is a challenge for the association -- to provide job opportunities for everyone.
Q: Does this mean that the Kuwaiti labor market is suffering from pharmacist saturation?
A: No, the government sector still needs pharmacists. However, our duty as an association is to consider the next steps, especially with the continuous increase in demand for this specialization. Consequently, we are exploring several plans to expand the scope of pharmaceutical services in Kuwait, in cooperation with the public and private sectors. We are currently studying the establishment of pharmacy consultation rooms in hospitals and primary healthcare centers. This service entails patients making an appointment to see a pharmacist in the pharmacy consultation rooms in order to view medications and obtain appropriate prescriptions. We are also studying the expansion of pharmaceutical services provided in several related departments like drug registration, drug inspection, drug control and medical warehouses; because the pharmacist’s role is no longer limited to managing the medicines warehouse, as it has expanded to include diverse functions and tasks.
Q: What about the private sector?
A: We are currently studying several plans and strategies to expand the scope of pharmacist work in the private sector, in coordination with the Pharmaceutical Importers Association and several international companies, to conduct training programs for newly graduated Kuwaiti pharmacists. Around 90 percent of pharmacists go directly to work in the government sector. Through this coordination, we are trying to create a suitable environment for Kuwaiti pharmacists to gain experience and skills by undergoing training at international companies. This will enhance the graduates’ resumes and provide them with the opportunity to choose between public and private sector employment. Through this step, we are gradually creating a suitable environment for pharmacists in the private sector and for the betterment of pharmaceutical services in the country; thereby, leading to quality and sustainability at work.
Q: Some criticize the practice of pharmacists wearing the doctor’s robe. How do you expect to receive patients through the ‘pharmaceutical consulting rooms’ service in view of this criticism?
A: This service is already offered by the geriatric clinic at Ministry of Health hospitals and has been well received by patients. We hope to expand it to include other patients in all hospitals. This service has been offered in many countries around the world for more than 15 years, including some Gulf countries. In Britain, the government uses pharmacists to review minor medical cases and dispense medications to relieve pressure on other clinics. Pharmacists are qualified to identify serious cases requiring medical attention or dispense medications for minor cases. Pharmacists possess a high level of clinical and pharmacological knowledge, so why not use them to review minor cases that do not require waiting and appointments at clinics?
Q: Do your plans include expanding clinical pharmacy services?
A: Yes. I remember when I started working at Al-Adan Hospital in 2013, I was the first clinical pharmacist at the hospital. At that time, the number of clinical pharmacists in all of Kuwait’s hospitals did not exceed five to six. Today, with the development of Kuwait University’s curricula, the number of pharmacists capable of providing clinical services and managing pharmaceutical services has reached around 150.
Q: Do you have a plan to expand the number of seats allocated to pharmacy students in and outside Kuwait?
A: There is only one College of Pharmacy at Kuwait University, so we hope to establish an auxiliary college to meet the growing demand for this vital specialization. Nevertheless, everyone knows that medical colleges face numerous challenges, including the provision of laboratories, hospitals, training teams, specialized halls, and other requirements that constitute a burden and require time and effort to expand the academic scope. Regarding external seats, the number of seats allocated to Kuwaiti students abroad ranges between 100 and 200. This, in my opinion, is a very suitable rate to feed the market at a steady pace over the coming period, ensuring that there is no pressure on the health system to employ these outputs.
Q: Citizens always complain about the high prices of medicines in Kuwait compared to other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. What is your comment on this?
A: Medicines are of two types: therapeutic and nutritional supplements. Therapeutic medicines are priced according to the law and a clear government mechanism. As for nutritional supplements, we cannot set the prices due to their diversity; particularly the differences from one company to another. It is well known that setting prices for medicines in countries are subject to several factors, including population density, supply chains and market size. If we compare medicine prices in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, for example, we find that the population of Kuwait is much smaller than that of Saudi Arabia. Thus, it is natural for medicine prices to be higher in Kuwait than in Saudi Arabia.
