Daily Times

As the country faces a severe shortage of doctors and nurses to serve its fast-swelling population, there has been a significant increase in the number of pharmacists, Daily Times has learnt.

As per available documents, a significant rise in pharmacists’ strength has been observed in last few years by Pharmacy Council of Pakistan (PCP). The council has registered 6, 3831 pharmacists across the country.

Punjab has produced 34,000 pharmacists, the largest number among all provinces, followed by Sindh with 18,003 pharmacists, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with 9,381, and Balochistan with 2,447.

The health experts of the view that although the lack of doctors is still a major concern but having more pharmacists will help improve healthcare services and make it easier for people to access medicines and care. Pharmacists are not considered medical doctors. However, they are essential members of the healthcare team, working closely with physicians and other professionals to ensure safe and effective patient care.

According to Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC), it has registration of around 250,500 doctors, 27,000 dentists and only 170,000 nurses across the country against the whooping population of more than 240 million. Almost half of these health practitioners were female, the council’s statistics added.

Surprisingly, it was revealed in a survey report conducted by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) and Gallup Pakistan, large number of female medical graduates don’t opt practice due to several reasons which also causes shortage of trained doctors in the health sector.

As per World Health Organisation (WHO) standards, the minimum ratio should be one physician per thousand patients, with an overall ratio of doctors, nurses and midwives at 44.5 per 10,000 people.

Role of a pharmacist is pivotal in health care profession, but expense to get degree to be a pharmacist are quite less then expenditures one would have to bear to become a doctor. The degree is called Doctor in Pharmacy (Pharm-D).

On average, private universities charge medical students over Rs 7 million for the full basic degree course. Medical degrees of the same duration at government-run institutions can cost less than Rs 1.5 million with the government providing a subsidy to produce a medical doctor.

In rural areas of the country shortages of doctors is more acute, pharmacists can provide essential healthcare services, referring complex cases to doctors when needed. Aforementioned survey of the PBS stated that even though a majority of the country’s population, around 61 per cent continues to live in rural areas while about 28 per cent of Pakistan’s total medical graduates live in rural areas as opposed to 72 per cent in urban areas.

Dr Hyder Abbasi at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) told this correspondent that Pharmacists are trained to manage medications, provide counselling, and monitor drug therapy, adding that they can take on more responsibilities in chronic disease management, health education, and preventive care.

He further stated that Pharmacists can help with minor ailments, vaccinations, and health screenings, freeing up doctors to focus on complex cases that, he added, can be a major source of lessen burden on medical sector.

“Pharmacists can take a leading role in educating patients about healthy lifestyles, disease prevention, and the proper use of medications. This reduces the overall need for doctor consultations by empowering patients to take better care of their health,” he recalled. He further stated that by ensuring the correct use of medications and preventing medication errors, pharmacists can reduce hospital readmission and unnecessary doctor visits caused by improper medication use.

He further suggested that a mechanism should be formulated by concerned health departments under which the Pharmacists should allow to use digital tools to remotely monitor patients with chronic diseases ensuring that their conditions are well-managed and reducing the need for regular doctor visits.