Health Buffer

All about Pharmacy

2020-09-04T23:34:00.005+05:00

Here are some Frequently Asked Questions about Pharmacy!

I was on a website related to SEO and was checking the quality of my website. There I found that the content of any website is ranked on google because of its quality and the demand for that content. I was much curious about this thing and wanted to know what could be the demand of the audience that is looking for the Pharma related information. my curiosity urged me to enter the 'pharmacy keyword' in the search bar of that website and I got the results within a few seconds.

The search volumes of all those pharmacy-related keywords was remarkable and I thought these keywords should be addressed on my blog because it will provide the important information about pharmacy based on the frequently asked questions on google about pharmacy. Then I copied those keywords on my notepad and started to write about them.

But suddenly, I realized that these keywords are searched all over the world while I'm writing about pharmacy for developing countries like Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh. Then I quit the idea of writing about all those keywords.

Now I'm just addressing one of those top questions that I found on that website and the rest questions will be addressed based on your feedback.

That 1st question was about the address of 24 hour walmart pharmacy !

Here Comes the Answer!

Wal-Mart has launched the 24-hour concept at 5 pharmacies in the following two states in the United States:

Arkansas
Texas

The address of 24-hour Walmart pharmacy in state Arkansas is:

Bentonville neighborhood market: 3510 Southeast 14th Street

While the address of 24 hour walmart pharmacy in state Texas is:

Arlington Neighborhood market, 735 West Sublet
Fort Worth Neighborhood market, 7401 Park Vista Boulevard
Mesquite Neighborhood market, 915 North Town East Boulevard
Plano Central Supercenter, 6000 Coit Road

The following are some other questions that are asked about the pharmacy profession all over the world.

a1 pharmacy

accredo pharmacy phone number

ace pharmacy

acme savon pharmacy

adlers pharmacy

akina pharmacy

alexander pharmacy

american botanical pharmacy

appalachian college of pharmacy

ashland pharmacy

avrio pharmacy

bachelor of pharmacy

bardonia pharmacy

barnes pharmacy

beaumont pharmacy solutions

bedard pharmacy

bellevue pharmacy

bernie's pharmacy

best canadian online pharmacy

Let me know in the comment section which of the following questions must be addressed. This thing will help me to understand the 'particular queries' of my audience and I could write precisely about those questions without any unnecessary long details.

Top 5 pharma companies in the world 2020

2020-08-30T18:38:00.017+05:00

Introduction to the Top 5 pharma companies in the world in 2020.

In this article, we'll be introducing the top 5 pharma companies in the world that are dominating the industry and are generating a huge amount of revenue throughout the world. The classification of these companies will be based upon the amount of revenue generated every year.

The basic objective of this industry is to provide medications that are used for the prevention of infections, maintain a healthy state of the body, and cure various diseases.

The industry contains a lot of subfields like the production, development, and marketing of drugs. The pharma industry has a direct influence on the worldwide population, so various international administrative bodies like WHO and FDA monitor this industry.

The following are the top 5 pharma companies in the world and a brief description of these companies along with the necessary details.

Johnson and Johnson
Hoffmann La Roche
Pfizer
Bayer
Novartis

1. Johnson and Johnson

Johnson & Johnson is on the top of the list of pharma companies and is the world's largest pharmaceutical organization by 2020, with an income of 82.06 billion dollars.

CEO: Alex Gorsky
Built-up: 1886
No. of Employees: 132,200
Revenue: 82.06 Billion US$
Headquarters: New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA

Johnson and Johnson is an American worldwide company established in 1886 that makes clinical gadgets, pharmaceuticals, and purchaser bundle merchandise. Johnson and Johnson's present central station are in New Jersey, New Brunswick, USA, and the organization works over 250 partners above 60 nations.

Probably the most famous buyer items and brands under Johnson and Johnson are Telenol, BandAid, Neutrogena, Johnson's Baby Products, and that's just the beginning. Johnson and Johnson has practical experience in innovative work, assembling of clinical gadget items, and medicinal products.

Here are some well-known items and brands of Johnson and Johnson.

Here is the list of some well-known brands and products by Johnson & Johnson

Immunity related products
Cardiovascular and metabolic infection items
Hypertension in the lungs
Ibuprofen
Abciximab
Dressing
Dapoxetine

2. Hoffmann La Roche

On number. 2 of the 'top 5 pharma companies in the world' is Hoffman La Roche, a global services organization that works worldwide under two divisions: pharmaceuticals and diagnostics.

The following are all the basic details about the Hoffmann La Roche company.

Established in: 1896
Founder: Fritz Hoffmann-La Roche
CEO: Severin Schwan
Headquarters: Basel, Switzerland
La Roche Revenue: 57 Billion US$
No. of Employees: 94,442

The Hoffmann La Roche pharmaceutical company is known for controlling the world's biggest pharma organizations, including the American biotechnology organization Genetic, the Japanese biotechnology organization Chogai Pharmaceuticals, and the US-based Ventana.

Roche was established in 1896 at its present home office in Basel, Switzerland. Roche made US$ 57 billion a year ago and is one of the world's second-biggest pharma organizations behind Johnson and Johnson for three continuous years.

Some well-known items and brands Hoffman La Roche.

Here is the list of some well-known items and brands by Hoffman La Roche.

Asthma L X, Xolair (omalizumab)
Avastin (bevacizumab)
Bacterium (Trimethoprim/Sulfamethoxazole)
Combination (Infected)
Laz, Giziva (Ubuntozomb)
Hemalibra (Amexomab)
Neoprogen (Flagstem)
Pneumopen (somatropin)
Orlistat
Xenpex (decalzomab)
Xeloda (Capsita Bine)

3. Pfizer

Pfizer 2020 positions third on this list of top 5 pharmaceutical companies as far as income. Pfizer is an American worldwide pharmaceuticals company headquartered in New York, it creates and fabricates meds and antibodies for a wide scope of clinical controls, including clinical science, oncology, cardiology, and endocrinology and neuroscience.

The following are the all necessary and basic details about Pfizer.

Established in: 1949
CEO: Albert Bourla
Founders: Charles F. Erhart and Charles Pfizer
Headquarters: New York City, New York, USA
Pfizer Revenue: 51.75 Billion US$
No. of employees: 88,300

In 2019, Pfizer got US$ 51.75 Billion in yearly income and has been the third-biggest pharma company as far as income for as long as four years, behind just Roche and Johnson and Johnson. The organization works through two divisions: Pfizer Innovative Health (IH) and Pfizer Essential Health (EH) business sections.

Some well-known products and brands of Pfizer:

Here is the list of some well-known items and brands by Pfizer.

Anacin (Aspirin & caffeine)
Atorvastatin (trademark Lepter)
Delucan (fluconazole)
Phylogeny (metronidazole)
Zithromax (azithromycin)
Zosyn (piperacillin)

4. Bayer

Bayer AG is the 4th most world's largest pharma company with a revenue of US$ 43.5 billion in 2020. German worldwide pharmaceutical industry is a maker and producer of human and veterinary pharmaceuticals. Purchaser medicinal services items; Agricultural concoction, seed, and biotechnology items. In 2019, Bayer acquired 43.54 billion$ in income and turned into Germany's biggest pharma organization.

The following are the all necessary and basic details about Bayer AG.

Established in: 1863
CEO: Werner Baumann
Founders: Friedrich Bayer and Johann Friedrich Weskott
Central command: Leverkusen, Germany
Revenue: 43.54 Billion US$
Number of workers: 103,824

Some of the well-known item and brands of Bayer pharmaceuticals are listed below

Aspirin
Berocca
Canesten
Claritin
Iberogast
Glucobay
MiraLAX
Nexavar
Stivarga
Xofigo
Talcid

If we categorize Bayer's products in broader terms, then the following products can be seen.

Veterinary medication
Ladies' healthcare products
Seeds
Diabetes care
Pesticide
Plant biotechnology
Oncology Products

5. Novartis

Novartis, a Swiss worldwide pharmaceutical company situated in Basel, Switzerland, is the second-biggest Swiss organization on the rundown of the world's biggest pharma organizations as far as income.

Established in: 1996
CEO: Vasant Narasimhan
Headquarters: Basel, Switzerland
Revenue: 51.9 Billion US$
Number of employees: 125,161

Novartis is the manufacturer of numerous well-known brands like Diclofenac (Voltaren), Carbamazepine (Tigretol), Valsartan (Diovan), Imatinib Mesylate (Glivec), Cyclosporine (Neural)c, and many other high ranking drugs in the market. Specially Oncology Leukemia Medicine is probably the highest-ranked one, of Novartis in the worldwide market.

Notwithstanding its great marketing projections, Novartis is likewise one of the world's largest pharma organizations regarding market capitalization.

Some of the well-known items and brands of Novartis Pharmaceutical are:

Gilenya (Neuroscience)
Lucentis (Ophthalmology)
Tasigna (Oncology)
Sandostatin (Oncology)
Afinitor/Votubia (Oncology)
Clozapine (Clozaril)
Diclofenac (Voltaren)
Cyclosporine (Neural)
Terbinafine (Lamisil)
Entresto (Cardiovascular, Renal, and Metabolism)
Cosentyx (Immunology, Hepatology, and Dermatology)

Conclusion:

The pharma industry is the fastest-growing field in the world that has established it's worth to the extent that it has become an inevitable necessity of life in the 21st century. The sector is evolving and incorporating the innovative methodologies with each passing moment to improve the quality of human life.

However, there's a need of strong check on the quality of the products (i.e tablets, capsules, injection, syrups, suspensions, emulsions, infusions, and so on) that are being manufactured by these pharmaceutical industries to avoid the complications produced by the use of these products on the patient's health. Assuring the quality of these products, the standard of human life can be raised on the planet Earth.

Here are some other related topics, that you might be interested in:

Hospital Pharmacist: Job, Career and Salary

How Pharmacists can be Registered in United States

Things You Must know about Corona Virus: Covid-19

2020-08-28T23:32:00.012+05:00

Corona Virus: Things you must know.

According to the world's meter, there are 24,794,160 total coronavirus cases in the world and the coronavirus pandemic continues to present new challenges for mankind.

In this critical condition, everyone must have some basic information and knowledge about Covid-19 so that the precautionary measures could be adopted for this pandemic. The purpose of this blog (under the title of 'Things to know about Corona Virus: Covid-19') is to reveal the facts for general public to promote safety measures that should be taken during this pandemic.

Responsible Agent

According to preliminary research, the responsible agent for this pandemic is named as novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) that appeared in December 2019 in the form of specific pneumonia disease in Wuhan, China.

Clinical Symptoms of Corona Virus

The most common symptoms of Covid-19 include fever, restlessness, dry cough, and shortness of breath.

Other symptoms include nasal congestion, headache, conjunctivitis, sore throat, diarrhea, loss of taste and smell, skin rubbing, and discoloration of the fingers or toes.

According to the World Health Organization, approximately 20% of people can face critical illness with difficulty in breathing.

Older people or people who have already suffered Diseases (e.g. Hypertension, heart and lung problems, diabetes, or cancer) can also face severe consequences of Covid-19 disease.

Transfer method and incubation period

The main method of transmission is through respiratory droplets, and the virus can also be transmitted through contact.

The maximum incubation period is 1 to 14 days, usually 5 days.

Following are Things you must know about Corona Virus: Covid-19

There is currently no vaccine for this epidemic.

Go out less.

Not engage in social activities such as eating out.

Reduce other gatherings.

Keep as much distance as possible when interacting with other people

Keep strict personal and environmental hygiene at all times.

Adapt Personal protection against the infection.

The key to avoiding the spread of the disease in the community is:

The symptomatic patients i.e with respiratory and chest disease should a wear face mask that will abstain transmission of coronavirus.

Wear a surgical mask when present in crowded places, when taking public transport.

That the mask should be worn properly, including before and after wearing the mask.

Avoid touching eyes, mouth, and nose.

Hand health should be taken care of i.e clean hands frequently, especially before touching mouth, nose, or eyes, before meals, after toilet use, after touching public installations such as handrails or doorknobs, or when hands become contaminated with respiratory fluids after coughing and sneezing.

The mouth should be covered with tissue paper before sneezing and coughing.

Wash the hands with soap and water and apply the soap on hands for at least 20 seconds. After washing hands clean only with a clean paper towel.

In the case of the absence of clean water, use a handwash based on 80-70% alcohol, which can be an effective way of cleaning.

The general public should follow the following health advice when traveling:

When traveling to countries/regions with (19-COVID) active community transmission of the virus, the close contact with people having fever or respiratory symptoms should be avoided. If contact with them is unavoidable, apply a surgical mask.

Avoid going to hospitals. If it is necessary to go to the hospital, wear a surgical mask and maintain personal hygiene;

Avoid touching animals (including a pet), poultry/birds and their feathers.

Avoid going to damp markets, live poultry places and farms like this. Avoid close contact with patients, especially those with symptoms of acute respiratory infections.

Adhere to food safety and hygiene principles such as raw and semi-cooked animal products.

Avoid consumption, including milk, eggs and meat, or foods that contain animal fluid (such as urine) or contaminated items.

If anyone feels unwell outside and has a fever or cough, wear a surgical mask, notify the hospital staff and seek medical advice immediately. Feel free to take the initiative to inform the doctor about the latest travel.

Conclusion:

This was all about the things everyone must know about Corona Virus to stay safe and secure. If you have any question regarding this post, please let us know in the comment section.
Thanks

Basic Challanges of Pharmacy Profession in Pakistan

2020-08-20T14:26:00.047+05:00

Pakistan is the 6th most crowded nation on the planet with more than 22 crore people according to world's meter. After the autonomy of Pakistan (August 1947), the Punjab University was the first institute to build up a three-year single program called B-pharm in 1948 which was reached out to four years in 1978-1979. In 2003, a stage towards further change was seen when the Higher education Commission (HEC) redesigned its B-Pharm program to a five-year Specialist PharmD (Doctor of Pharmacy) program.

Right now the Pakistani PharmD program is confronting various issues which are going about as an obstacle to pharmacists and the foundation of practice as a profession.
The purpose of this blog is to highlight these basic challanges so that the HEC (Higher education commission) and the Pakistan Pharmacy Council abbreviated as PPC can intercede to alter the professional framework so as to set up a decent establishment for pharmacists and to create techniques to adapt to the difficulties in a better way.

Basic Challlanges in Pakistan:

As this profession is a new advancement in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and is facing a lot of challanges of different natures. Here are some basic challanges that are commonly faced by pharmacists and pharmacy professin.

PharmD Educational program and Curriculum Challanges:

While developing the curriculum the main purpose was to satisfy a universal need with the goal that Pakistani pharmacists would not confront issues in proceeding with their advanced education and going after positions worldwide and this is the privilege of each developing nation to do this.
Basically, there are two types of mechanisms working here i.e annual system and semester system and the design of Pharm-D curriculum is such that it focuses more on cramming ratther than the practical knowledge and the subsequent inspiration of work immersion in the pharmaceutical part is compromised. Employment immersion had ascended to about 75% in the pharmaceutical business, as per the HEC in the educational plan report created by the National Educational program Amendment Committee. Besides, keeping in see the worldwide need, it was basic to get ready Pakistani pharmacists to assume their job in efficient clinical set-ups (for example clinics, fundamental wellbeing units) and in drug stores (for example retail and community pharmacies).

PharmD program Limitations:

In spite of the fact that the expectation to build up the program was acceptable, in favoring the last educational plan there was no counsel with the foundations offering the PharmD program around the world. In the event that there had been meeting at the beginning, a superior program, liberated from genuine analysis, would have developed. Specifically the Saudi PharmD program, for instance, created by Ruler Faisal College is acceptable in such manner. Indeed, even with constrained accessibility of clinical staff they have structured an educational plan that is certify by the ACPE (Accreditation council for pharmacy education). First they have assessed the national drug store instruction educational plan that is offered by different foundations. In the second stage they have structured an educational plan keeping in see the neighborhood and ACPE necessities and in the third stage they have sent their educational plan for survey to unfamiliar authorities to remark on its substance. The revised syllabus of Pharm-D programm can be downladed from Pharmacy Council's website.

Assessment framework (Examination Method):

Among the basic challanges of pharmacy profession in Pakistan another significant issue is the framework of examination. A considerable lot of the colleges keep on executing the old yearly assessment framework. At the end of the day, the PharmD program in working under a double assessment framework, that is, either a yearly or a semester system. Significantly all the more astounding is the way that various organizations practicing a similar framework are not uniform as far as reviewing their undergraduates. This can deny skilled undergraduates of acquiring employments since both in the legislature and the private areas applicants are short-recorded dependent on their evaluations in relative pharma college. Subsequently, there is a genuine need to normalize the assessment framework in all pharmacy establishments.

Difficulty in Hospital Jobs and Unacceptance by Healthcare Staff in Clinical Settings:

One of the significant difficulties Pharm-D graduates confront is the unccessibility of emergency clinic employments and acknowledgment in clinical settings by the clinical and paramedical work force.
In spite of the fact that the administration of the Punjab Government has declared employments for them in government emergency clinics, the pharmacist only plays out a clinical job or at pharmacy setup. In numerous open emergency clinics, there is just one post for a drug specialist, so there is a long holding up list. Regularly the individual accountable for the clinical store is a MBBS specialist with the pharmacists playing out an administrative job in its administration. At the point when we talk about the PharmD, we need to discuss the job of drug specialist in clinical practice, however in Pakistan their job in understanding consideration and the sane utilization of medications stays in question.

There is a need to promote medical specialists's ability to acknowledge the role of the pharmacist in healthcare system. This is additionally strengthened by the assessment of medical caretakers' reactions towards the clinical job of the drug specialist. In their view, his job is to perform administrative obligations in administering the dissemination of medication in emergency clinics. They have recommended that the accessibility of the pharmacists at the clinic nonstop that may improve persistent consideration. Nonetheless, Pakistani medical attendants are bound to accept that they are permitted to play a role in patient consideration will be an interruption in their issues, and they would lean toward him to concentrate on the administration of drug stores as opposed to tolerant consideration. So, for the advancement of a viable pharmacy practice set-up, a drug specialist should confront protection from upgrading their utilitarian job in quiet consideration from clinical specialists as well as from the paramedical staff, particularly nurture. Then again doctors were additionally awkward with the job of the pharmacist in direct patient consideration. In Pakistan, medical specialists think about him as medication data specialists. Be that as it may, their expectation as suppliers of value clinically-engaged drug store administrations was low. The specialists (MBBS doctors) are likewise awkward with him giving direct patient consultation.

Prescribing rights to doctors and non-experts:

As indicated by the principles and guidelines of the Health Ministry of Pakistan, a doctor can set-up his own clinical store where patients can get the recommended prescriptions. The individual accountable for filling the prescriptions doesn't need to be a pharmacist: he just must have registered with 10 years of study proportional to the English GCSE (Matricc) or have a capability of 12 years of study equal to the English A-level (Intermediate). The privilege of these non-experts and doctors to run their own clinical stores is a major test to the utilitarian job of drug specialist in retail and community pharmacy setup.

Responsibility of Pharmacists in Pharmacy practice:

The Pakistan's situation is itself a major test for pharmaceutical practice. Most of drug specialist lease their classification permit to practice laymen for a regularly scheduled installment. Thusly, the individual who runs the clinical store/retail/network setup is a non-proficient who has little information on tranquilize associations and measurements of medicine. Besides, the overall population is regularly not mindful of the job of the drug specialist in clinical consideration. While buying some recommended medication, it has been observed that the individuals disclosing their indications to these nonprofessionals who at that point give them medication to treat their ailment. Given this situation, the inquiry that emerges here is whether the Pakistani drug specialist is happy to work in the community/retail setup.

It is the obligation of the PPC and Health Ministry of Pakistan to guarantee the presence of the practicing individual (for example the pharmacist) at the drug store nonstop. Moreover, the PPC should implement the drug store law: those retail pharmacies working under the management of non-experts (for example non-pharmacist) should to be shut and the permit of drug specialists leasing their licenses should be cancelled that they can't satisfy their social duty and administer the clinical store themselves. Besides, the PPC should stop the enlistment of B and C category confirmation holders in drug store. These class B and C holders are qualified to enlist with the PPC and to run a retail drug store in their areas. With the execution of the PharmD program, it is the duty of the PPC to take severe notice at the grassroots level so that the future of this field get an ideal situation to assume their job openly and successfully to reinforce the human services set-up in Pakistan.

In Pakistan, pharmacy training is at a momentary stage, as far as educational plan. An absence of experienced and qualified staff is the primary test that the education/training area is looking subsequent to redesigning the Pharm-D program. This is one of the fundamental purposes behind the inadequacies in the clinical substance of the PharmD program. .And if it is profession is ignored, it will consequently lead to the poor healthcare system in Pakistan as the pharmacist plays a key role in healthcare system.

Thanks for reading this article, if you have any questions about the challenges of pharmacy profession, you may ask in the comment section.

Hospital Pharmacist: Job, Career and Salary

2020-08-10T19:01:00.007+05:00

Hospital pharmacy is a place in hospital where all the medicines are availabe for the treatment of all particular diseases in that hospital. The incharge of this pharmacy is called 'Hospital Pharmacist' and is responsible for maintinace of drugs, filling of the prescripitions, monitoring the supply of all medicines, quality testing, manufacturing, purchasing, dispensing, maintinance of record, and maintinace of stock in that pharmacy. This article will cover the role, responsibilty and all necessary information about the hospital pharmacist.

History:

Its come a long way. Back in the middle ages doctors would cover you in leeches at the first sign of just about any illness. And the less said about mercury injections the better. Fast forward 500 years and we've got hospitals. Big shiny buildings full of doctors, nursesand hospital pharmacists.

Role and responsibilty:

Hospitals can not function without highly trained and highly skilled hospital pharmacists. Try and imagine a hospital without medicine. Its like imagining a library without books. Or a restaurant without food. Hospital pharmacists produce personalised medicines allowing for specific and individual treatment for every patient. They have face to face meetings with patients to ensure they understand all the important aspects of the medication they are taking.

They are also involved in clinical trials treatments, cancer treatments, emergency medications and many other areas of health in the hospital setting. We can say, hospital pharmacists make sure the hospital has the right medicines, for the right patients at the right time, and that these are administered in the right way. They ensure that at all hours of the day and night patients in the hospital wards have the medicines they need.

Working with the hospital Staff:

Working with doctors and nurses the hospital pharmacist helps to make sure that patients get the right care and treatment. But hospitals, and hospital pharmacies, like everything in the modern world, do not stand still. Change is a constant and the profession is dedicated to ensuring it plays its full part in the continuous improvement of treatment standards and the achievement of new levels of success in terms of patient outcomes. And thats why the Pakistan Pharmacists Association (PPA) calls confrences on the emerging role of pharmacists. Everyone who comes to the Summit is to be informed by the professional working in the field to set out the future direction of the profession, how it can further serve the patient and enhance collaboration with other health professionals.

It is very necessary to highlight and learn from all the good practice initiatives achieved in hospital pharmacies across the Pakistan, so that we can create improvement tools and roadmaps that can turn aspirations of improvement into reality and agree a set of competencies and roles for hospital pharmacists to achieve in every this country country.

Hospital Pharmacists during COVID-19

This coronavirus pandemic continues to present new challenges for all hospital departments — and the pharmacy is no exception. Whether it is overcoming staffing challenges from increased or decreased patient volumes, protecting personnel or establishing processes for the procurement, storage and delivery of medications, the hospital pharmacy has had to quickly adapt. The demands of the pandemic have not eased since March of this year(2020) for many hospitals, and now experts are predicting the combined events of the coronavirus and the upcoming flu season may have a particularly significant impact on our health system. In this critical condition, hospital pharmacists are performing their duties efficiently and whole heartedly to lessen the impact of pandemic on the hospitals. They are also helping the government by educating the general public about precautionary and safety measures that should be taken during this pandemic

Salary of Hospital Pharmacist in Pakistan:

Although there is not an exact amount of salary fixed for them but as an estimate he average salary of hospital pharmacist is about 380k per year in Pakistan which may fluctuate according to the type of hospital or location of the job.

Conclusion

Everything a hospital pharmacist does has the end goal of helping the patient and in the hospital context this always has,and always will be, a team effort.

Thanks for reading the article. If you have any question about the role of hospital pharmacist, you can ask in the comment section.

How Pharmacists can be Registered in United States

2020-07-25T18:40:00.021+05:00

Working as a pharmacist in the United States of America is a dream for many students specially from the developing countries like Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. It's because of the highly paid sallaries to the pharmacists as compared to these developing countries.
According to a news report. ''In 2018, pharmacists made a median salary of about $126,120. The best-paid 25 percent made $145,870 that year, while the lowest-paid 25 percent made $111,340''. In addition to the sallaries, there are a lot of other oppurtunities that are provided to the pharmacists in the United States of America.

How to get registered as a Pharmacist in the U.S?

Today I will share with you the steps in order to get pharmacist license in the US after graduating from a foreign school, specifically in the Paksiatan. The reason I’m writing this blog to provide you a road map for getting registerd as a pharmacist in the United States. I think that just like anything else in life, any goal seems to be more achievable when you have the whole process leading to it laid out before you, just like I'm going to tell you in this article.

Okay, so basically there are 5 steps that you need to do to get your pharmacist license in the US if you’re a foreign graduate.
Step No.1 is to take the FPGEE (Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Equivalency Examination) ,
Step No. 2 is to take the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign language) or IELTS (International English Language Testing System).
Step No. 3 is to do your internship,
Step No. 4 is to take the NAPLEX (North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination) ,
Step No. 5 is to take the MPJE (Multistate Pharmacy Jurisprudence Examination) or the CPJE (California Pharmacy Jurisprudence Examination) if you’rein California.

Keep in mind that some of these steps are actually interchangeable, like for example the FPGEE and the TOEFL can actually be takenin any particular order, so the TOEFL could be your Step 1 and the FPGEE, Step 2. And then also the NAPLEX and the MPJE could be reversed as well.

STEP 1:

Take the FPGEE. FPGEE stands for Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Equivalency Exam. So what it is exactly is kind of like a board exam except that it doesn’t give you a pharmacist license. It’s basically just a proof that your pharmacy education is equivalent to that of a pharmacist that’s educated in the US. So it has 250 questions, in 2010, it only had multiple choice questions all throughout the test, but now they havesince modified the test to include several formats like multiple answer format, hotspot format, and ordered response. So it’s administered twice a year, once in the spring which is around April-May, and once again in the fall which is around Septemberor October. It’s offered anywhere in the continental United States.

STEP 2:

Take the TOEFL iBT or IELTS (International English Language Testing System). TOEFL stands for Test of English as Foreign Language Internet-Based Test. So this test is basically just a test of English but it’s quite challenging because it has a Speaking part. The test is technically divided into 4 components. It has Reading, Listening, Speaking, and Writing. Each component is worth 30 points, and for you to be considered by the NABP (National Association of Boards of pharmacy), you have to score at least 22 in Reading, 21 in Listening,26 in Speaking, and 24 in Writing. One important thing to know is that the TOEFL is administered all over the world but for the NABP to accept your scores, you can only take it in the US, US territories, Australia, New Zealand, and most of Canada. So you cannot take it in the Pakistan otherwise NABP will not accept your score.

STEP 3:

Complete the State-Required Internship. At this point, you would have to have a visa that’s permitted for employment because internship is considered “work.” And you can’t work on just a tourist or a visitor’s visa. Every state is different when it comes to their internship requirements but for most of America it’s 1500 hours. I know that in Washington State, the number of hours corresponds to your score on the FPGEE (Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Examination Comittee). So the higher the score, the smaller the hours that you need to complete. And also in the state of New York, it’sa whole different kind of story because there you will need to take the NAPLEX first before you can do the internship. But in California, it’s 1500 hours which roughly equates to about 10 months if you’re going to be working full-time or 40 hours a week.

What an Intern Pharmacist Can do?

An intern pharmacist can basically do anything that a licensed pharmacist can do except final check.
These include patient counseling, administering flu shots and other vaccinations, communicating with prescribers about a prescription, and the list goes on. In California they require you to do part of your 1500 hours of internship in a community setting such as a retail chain pharmacy, and another part in an institutional setting like a hospital pharmacy, sterile compounding pharmacy,or a long term care pharmacy. And then once you’ve completed your hours you can now apply for the NAPLEX and the CPJE or MPJE.

STEP 4:

Take the NAPLEX Effective, the NAPLEX has increased the number of questions from 185 to 250 and the questions are in the same format as the FPGEE. One of the main differences between the NAPLEX and the FPGEE is that the NAPLEX is more clinically based and also the questions are more scenario-based, like you will see most of the questions presented in a patient scenario format with a patient profile alongside their medical history and several questions following it. Then you will have to use your clinical judgment to answer the questions properly. The highest scaled score you can get is 150 and the passing score is 75.

STEP 5:

Take the MPJE or the CPJE (if you’rein California). So what this is basically is the pharmacy law and regulations part of the board exam. If you’re going to be taking the MPJE, it’s going to be 120 questions long, and the passing score is 75. The highest is 100. If you’re in California, the test is goingto be called CPJE and it’s a 90-item exam, all multiple choice throughout, and the highest score you can get is 99 and the passing score is 75. Once you have passed both the NAPLEX and the MPJE or CPJE, you can now apply for your RPh license. Yay! Okay, so that ends 5 steps of how to pharmacist license in the US.

Thank you so much for reading this blog to the end. I hope you have understood the whole procedure of getting registered as a pharmacist in the US. If you have any querry about this blog, you can ask in the comment section.
Thank you again and good luck!

Pharm D - Introduction, Scope, Career and Salary in Pakistan

2020-07-22T20:28:00.021+05:00

A pharmacist is a healthcare professional who is specialized in the use of medicines and is responsible for the research, discovery and development of new drugs. Wherever there is a medicine, there will be pharmacist either it's a hospital, a pharmacy, a clinic or a pharmaceutical industry. Pharmacist directcly deals with the patients and counsels them in their health related problems and also guides them on safe use of medicines. This article will elaborate the Pharm D - Introduction, Scope, Career and salary in Pakistan.

Pharmacy degree in Pakistan:

There are two types of pharmacy degrees in Pakistan i.e A-category and B-category.
A-category is a 5 years degree program called Pharm-D or Doctor of Pharmacy and is issued by the pharmacy council of Pakistan. A-category is registered in register A in pharmacy council.
While B-category is a 2 years degree program called pharmacy technician or pharmacy assistant which is registered in register B in the council.

Eligibility criteria:

The criteria for 2 years degree is at least 60% marks is matric with science while the criteria for 5 years degree is at least 60% marks in F.Sc or A-level. In government universities the merit of Pharm-D is very high i.e almost 90% while in private institutions the merits is not so high but the fee is very high as compared to the govt. institutes. The fee structure in govt. institutes ranges from 3-5 lac while in private institutions it ranges from 10-15 lac.

Education and Syllabus:

The basics of medical science is taught in pharmacy education. The students are delivered the knowledge of physiology, anatomy, biochemistry, pharmaceutical dosage forms, microbiology, pharmacognosy, pharmaceutical chemistry, pharmacology, pharmaceutical analysis, clinical and therapeutics, quality control, hospital pharmacy, industrial pharmacy, clinical pharmacy and drug law in the 5 year degree program. The syllabus can be downloaded from the website of Pharmacy council of Pakistan.

Role and Responsibility:

With the advancement in healthcare facilities the role of pharmacist has increased in health sector.
He is responsible for the:

Research and development of new medicines.
Dispensing of medicines to the patient.
Filling of the prescriptions.
Counseling of the patients.
Registration of drugs in drug regulatory authority of Pakistan.
Legal advisor in drug courts.
Monitoring the legal requirements related to drugs as a drug inspector.
Healthcare providers hire pharmacists to guide and facilitate about the use of drugs.
Quality control and quality management in pharmaceutical industries.

Scope of pharmacy in Pakistan:

Pharmacy is a professional degree which has a huge scope in both government and private sectors in Pakistan. Alongwith various jobs in government sector, the pharmacy degree also offers a lot of oppurtunities in private sector.

Pharmacy Jobs in Pakistan:

There are numerous jobs of pharmacists in both the public and private sector that are listed below.

Jobs of pharmacists in government sector:
1. Drug inspector
2. Clinical pharmacist
3. Hospital pharmacist
4. Forensic laboratory
5. Drug court
6. Lecturer/Teacher in pharmaceutical institutes etc.

Jobs of pharmacists in private sector:
1. Marketing for pharmaceutical companies
2. Personal community pharmacy setup
3. Quality control in-charge
4. Production manager in pharmaceutical industries

5. Incharge in research and development departments
6. Private clinical setups
7. Drug distribution setup

Salaries:

There is a diverse range of salaries of pharmacists in Pakistan depending upon the nature of jobs. But as a rough estimate we can say that the salaries of pharmacists working in Pakistan range from 50-90 thousands per month at initial levels which may increase upto 5 lacs depending upon the nature of job.
While from the community pharmacy setup he/she can earn according to the amount of investment that has been made on a particular setup.

Conclusion:

This was all about the introduction, scope and career of a pharmacist and pharmacy profession in Pakistan. As we all know that the Pharma industry is a top growing field in the world and has a basic role in providing the healthcare facilities to the patients to enhance their quality of life. There are a lot of opportunities waiting for the fresh undergraduates to build their career and serve the humanity at the same time..
If you have any question regarding this article, please let us know in the comment section.