This bitter pill is why I won't work in Singapore

This bitter pill is why I won't work in Singapore
Friday • October 19, 2007
EMILY POH
I AM a Singaporean pharmacist trained and qualified in the United Kingdom, where I have been working for the last two years.
I have considered coming back but feel that the industry is not ready for me. Apart from a demoralising environment due to poor staff retention, there is also little recognition of the pharmacist's role as a drug expert.
The choice of medicine prescribed for a patient may be driven by the amount of incentives given to doctors by drug company representatives, instead of a guideline of what drugs are clinically proven to be efficient and cost-effective.
I have spent four years at university getting my degree and another doing my pre-registration year learning about clinical pharmacology, pharmaceutics and therapeutics. Yet I've noticed that Singaporeans would rather go to a doctor than a pharmacist for advice on their medications.
They feel they should get advice from the person who has written the prescription. But when they see a general practitioner (GP), they get their medications at the dispensary from someone who is not even a qualified dispenser. There is no one to pick up any drug interactions and dispensing errors at that point. Besides, the patient might be forgoing some professional advice regarding his/her medication.
How many patients have spent more than 15 minutes speaking to their pharmacists about their medication? Do the pharmacists even explain how the medicines work or suggest having their medicine use reviewed?
Being a pharmacist is not only about keeping the waiting time down. It is also about how to reduce drug-dispensing errors, picking up drug interaction as well as giving best advice about the medication and possible lifestyle changes to go with the treatment.
Most pharmacists are not given a chance to use their expertise. Most of the time — under pressure to keep down the long waiting times at clinics — the most they do is dispense the correct medication according to the prescription and not question it. They only have the time to tell you the dose and frequency of the medication to be taken — all of which is already printed on the label.
That is certainly not what pharmacy is all about. If that is the practice of pharmacy, it would be easier to get an accuracy-checking technician rather than a pharmacist. It would be far cheaper, too!
With the growing number of ageing Singaporeans, we have to look into problems with increasing drug interactions due to increasing aliments.
Furthermore, GPs, polyclinics and hospitals are not linked up properly to create a seamless access to the medical history of patients. As a result, some patients may end up in hospital due to polypharmacy, or taking too many different drugs.
The system is far from mature. The salary, other incentives and opportunities are just not attractive enough to woo me back to Singapore. It will take a long time for the pharmacist profession to be respected in the Republic. Copyright MediaCorp Press Ltd. All rights reserved. http://www.todayonline.com/articles/217509.asp