Drap CEO calls for employing pharmacists to tackle growing medication errors

The presence of trained and qualified pharmacists is essential at community pharmacies, medical stores and hospitals as doctors are not trained in preventing medication errors.

Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (Drap) Chief Executive Officer Asim Rauf said this on Saturday while speaking at the first Medication Safety Conference organised by the Alkhidmat in Karachi.

He emphasised that medication errors, which claim over 500,000 lives annually in Pakistan, could only be minimised through the inclusion of pharmacists in healthcare systems.

“Medication errors are killing people worldwide, including Pakistan. Pharmacists are specifically trained in preventing such errors, making their presence at pharmacies and hospitals indispensable,” Rauf said.

He commended the Alkhidmat Pharmacy Services for organising the event, which brought together leading healthcare professionals and policymakers to address the issue.

The Drap chief highlighted the importance of pharmacovigilance and urged healthcare professionals to report adverse drug reactions to Drap. “Unexplained deaths following medication administration should be investigated. We are working to ensure pharmacies have pharmacists for the safe dispensation of medicines,” he added.

Pakistan’s pharmacies and hospitals were woefully under-regulated, with only 5 per cent of pharmacies employing trained pharmacists and half of the hospitals operating without them, the conference was told.

Alkhidmat Pharmacy Director Services Syed Jamshed Ahmed called for stringent regulations to address the crisis, describing the situation as a public health emergency.

“Of 60,000 pharmacies nationwide, only 3,000 have qualified pharmacists. The rest function like grocery stores, where untrained staff dispense medicines, often with lethal consequences. Running a pharmacy without a pharmacist should be a punishable offense,” he said.

Former director of Alkhidmat Pharmacy Services Abdul Latif Shaikh noted that illegible handwritten prescriptions by doctors were a significant cause of medication errors.

“When untrained staff attempt to interpret unclear prescriptions, it often leads to fatal outcomes. Medication safety must start from the import of raw materials for drug manufacturing to proper prescription handling,” he emphasised.

Shaikh advocated for a non-punitive approach to error reporting. “Fear of prosecution prevents healthcare providers from reporting errors. Encouraging and incentivising reporting could help improve medication safety,” he added.

Dr Saqib Ansari, Alkhidmat’s director of medical services, proposed a one-year paid internship programme for pharmacists.

“Hands-on training can prepare pharmacists to play a vital role in reducing errors and finding employment locally and internationally. At Alkhidmat hospitals, pharmacists have proven to reduce mortality rates by assisting doctors,” he said.

Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (PPMA) representative Shaikh Kaiser Waheed highlighted the gender disparity in the profession, noting that 90 per cent of pharmacists were women, many of whom left the field after marriage.

“Parents should encourage their daughters and sons to actively contribute to the profession after graduation,” he said.

The conference featured insights from healthcare leaders, including the executive director of the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) and managing director of the Tabba Heart Institute, who shared best practices for ensuring medication safety. These included techniques for safe dispensation of high-risk drugs like concentrated electrolytes and tailored prescriptions based on patients’ conditions.

The event, attended by senior physicians and pharmaceutical industry leaders, concluded with a consensus on the urgent need for regulatory reforms to make pharmacists an integral part of healthcare systems in Pakistan.