This was a business trip for me to Bangkok so I didn't had time to be in Singapore for a reasonable amount of time. Had a really good trip for work and also for visiting my friends in Bangkok! MISSED the food so much man, you can't seem to get away from dutchified chinese food in the Netherlands so it was almost like a food haven for me this time.
Just some info. This was pretty much a fact-finding trip for FIP and I was there with Mr Kurt, professional secretary of FIP community pharmacy section, in our colloboration with Thailand, for GPP implementation discussions. Perhaps I can show and share some interesting facts about the practice of pharmacy in Thailand.
There are three types of pharmacy. Type A (i), Type A (ii) and Type B.
Type A (i) pharmacy are owned by pharmacists and they can dispense all medications according to the 3 schedules of drug classification. As you can see, there is a logo of "Quality Pharmacy", accredited by the Pharmacy Council for this pharmacy. One of the elements of GPP implementation in Thailand is with regards to the accreditation processes.
Here you can see the pharmacist engaging the patient in her counseling. Btw, the couple you see above are both pharmacists and they are the pharmacy owners too.
The location of this pharmacy is at the suburbs of Bangkok city and business is good for them because there is the main carpark for this catchment area just opposite the pharmacy.
Type A (ii) pharmacy are not owned by pharmacists and they have to hire a pharmacist to dispense the medications. The minimum number of dispensing hours is 3 hours. For this pharmacy, you can see the pharmacy owner on the right side, the pharmacist is his brother and he holds a regular job at a drug company in the day, so dispensing hours are from 7pm to 10pm.
By law, it is a requirement for the pharmacy to have a sign indicating the dispensing hours. Type A pharmacies have a blue sign. You can also see that the pharmacy certifications are displayed.
This pharmacy was recently open a month ago so you could see that things were pretty neat. The influence of a pharmacist in good pharmacy practice is obvious when we compare with a Type B pharmacy.
Type B pharmacy are not owned by a pharmacist and they do not hire pharmacists at all. Selling is limited to only pre-packed pharmaceutical products and no loose pack selling is allowed. But as you can see, enforcement is not easy in the suburbs and upcounty areas. The pharmacy owner was a little jitterly when we arrived. The lady in the photo is from Thai FDA and she is one of the inspectors and head of Import and Export Division.
Type B pharmacy uses a green sign. Here you can figure out that the pharmacy opening hours are from 10am to 6pm.
We found out that he was selling tetracycline capsules and amoxilicin tablets loose. These are antibotics. He mentioned that it was because his pharmacy was the first to open in this area so by the history of time, he had always been selling these medications to the community for cough and colds! He used to sell a wider range of drugs but now, he is not focusing on drug sales because of the new accredited pharmacy nearby. But he still kept these two antibotics because he had regular customers on them.
Summary:
A pharmacist in Thailand can do so much in terms of community pharmacy practice because of the wide range of medications under Pharmacy Only schedule (this includes antibotics and most of the chronic care diseases drugs). Thus with the new thinking and shifts in Good Pharmacy Practice guidelines and regulations, it is much anticipated that we can show more clearly the role of the pharmacist in the community setting for health promotion and rational drug use in Thailand.
(Please note that these are my personal views only and non-reflective/objective of FIP and its related working partners)
