SQUARE Hospitals, the legend of Hospital Pharmacy Practice in Bangladesh

Manik Chandra Shill1, Fahad Hussain2

SQUARE Hospitals Limited, a concern of Square Group, is a 300-bed tertiary care Hospital. This hospital is an affiliate partner of Methodist Healthcare, Memphis, Tennessee, USA, Christian Medical Collage, Vellore, India and Care IVF centre, Singapore. SQUARE Hospital is committed to serve the people of Bangladesh as well as South and Southeast Asia with its quality healthcare and an integrated centre for clinical services, medical and nursing education and research.

Hospital pharmacists work in a hospital pharmacy service and are responsible for ensuring the safe, appropriate and cost-effective use of medicines. Hospital pharmacists use their specialist knowledge to dispense drugs and advise patients about the medicines they have been prescribed. They work collaboratively with other health care professionals to devise the most appropriate drug treatment for patients. Hospital pharmacists also involve in the preparation of medicines or admixture in hospital premise. Hospital pharmacy practice is one of the most vital parts of a hospital for better patient care and drug safety management. SQUARE Hospitals come up with the vision and mission of world class patient care services in Bangladesh and established hospital pharmacy service under the supervision of qualified pharmacists to ensure safe use of drugs. World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that standard hospital pharmacy practice should be carried out under the super vision of professionally competent legally qualified graduate pharmacist. WHO clearly recommends that the management of drug procurement, storage and distribution should be the responsibility of the pharmacy graduates. The WHO consultative group describe that the pharmacy graduates acquire necessary knowledge, training and understanding of the scientific principles and techniques of the pharmaceutical sciences and the ability to keep pace throughout their careers with development and management of pharmacy. The management of SQUARE Hospital has made their pharmacist trained from Bamrungrad Hospital, Bangkok, Thailand and Christian Medical College Hospital, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India. At SQUARE Hospital pharmacists tried their best to implement the ideas learned from the training to improve pharmacy services. Hospital pharmacy of SQUARE Hospital consists of Out Patient Pharmacy (OPD), In-Patient Pharmacy (IPD) and Central Pharmacy (CPD). The departmental activities are run under the supervision of pharmacists. OPD provides service to the out or ambulatory patients, IPD provides service to the admitted patient, CPD link with procurement department ensuring availability of drug as per the demand of OPD, IPD and maintain inventory report and record. The pharmacy activities can be outlined as below –

- Prescription screening to ensure right drug with right dose. It also involves communication with prescriber in case of any confusion.

- Ensure proper drug dispensing (right drug to the right patient in right time) - Drug information services to the health professionals. - Ensure proper handling and controlling of narcotic drug use and maintain

documentation as per the protocol of Narcotic Control Department of Bangladesh Govt.

- Training and development (both pharmacy personnel and nurses) - Vendor evaluation to ensure cost effective and quality medicines - Inventory management to optimize drug budget. - Pharmacy and therapeutic committee meeting and formulary management - Prepare extemporaneous preparations and admixture as needed. - Preparation of protocol, SOP to provoke international standard pharmaceutical

service. The mentioned activities are the vital to ensure quality drug management service in a hospital setting. Recently some of our valued customers convey their special thanks to hospital pharmacists for providing their especial effort to prepare some preparations that are not available in the local market. Doctor - Pharmacist - Nurse makes bridge residing the patient in the center to provide best pharmaceutical care. SQUARE Hospital always emphasizes on building this professional relationship at the hospital premises. SQUARE Hospital management believes that to ensure world class patient care service, pharmacy service is an inevitable part as with medical, nursing and pathological etc. service in the hospital setting. The pharmacy students of Khulna University, Dhaka University and Northern University have visited pharmacy department of SQUARE Hospital and pay their special thanks to the management for their initiation of such a standard hospital pharmacy practice in Bangladesh. K.M Saiful Islam, the honorable director of SQUARE Hospital, when talked to the visiting students, mentioned that Square group always gives preference to the expertise professionals in the specialized area. K.M. Saiful Islam mentioned that Square Pharmaceuticals started recruiting pharmacist in the PMD (Product Management Department) for the first time in Bangladesh Pharma sector and SQUARE Hospital also maintain the same, as Square group believes that pharmacists are the drug specialist and the right person to ensure safe drug use in the hospital setting. The professional interaction among pharmacists’ doctors and nurses should be strong to provide health services. Hospital and Community pharmacy profession is a very dignified, trusted and royal profession throughout the world but in Bangladesh most of the people do not know about the role of hospital and clinical pharmacist. I do believe that the situation will be changed if Government takes initiatives to establish hospital pharmacy setting under the graduate pharmacist, at least in the medical college hospital level and give them the opportunity to work with doctors, nurses and other health professionals to ensure safe use of drugs.

We must keep in mind that pharmacist and pharmacy service is a vital part of heath care system. To attain the healthcare service doctor, pharmacist, nurse, pathologist, biochemist, microbiologist, radiologist and all other health professionals should work together. We should remember any interruption in the team work will interrupt the whole health system and patient care service will never be achieved. 1. Manik Chandra Shill, Coordinator – IPD Pharmacy, SQUARE Hospitals Limited 2. Fahad Hussain - Pharma Journalist, PharmaMirror.com

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