World Pharmacists Day 2021
Pharmacy: Always trusted for your health
The role of pharmacists in healthcare is dynamic, and continues to evolve. With the onset of COVID-19 spreading fiercely across our globe since 2019, pharmacists have gained some long-awaited recognition as key frontline workers, however, their full inclusion in health systems across the Commonwealth is still a distance away. Pharmacists are appreciated for only a fraction of their true capabilities, not only during an emergency response like a pandemic, but in other disease areas too.
This year, World Pharmacists Day will be celebrated on the 25th of September. This annual event anchors on the demonstrated value that pharmacists continue to deliver in the health sector. It’s a day that highlights their important responsibility to directly serve, not only the medical profession, but patients and the wider public who in many countries turn to pharmacists for various reasons, especially when medical doctors are overwhelmed.
They are trusted for the wealth of knowledge and care they have to offer when patients have no other place to seek reputable information. In many countries, during the pandemic, these responsibilities expanded out to vaccine administration, which enabled a more rapid response.
Why does trust matter?
To build trust, three elements required include, positive relationships, competency/expertise, and consistency. Trust is essential to healthcare and improved patient outcomes.
To celebrate World Pharmacists Day, we asked some of our Commonwealth pharmacists about their memorable experiences and feedback which they felt demonstrated trust. Here are a few that stood out for us:
The CPA focuses on empowering pharmacists with the education and support needed to improve the care they provide for their patients. They also support pharmacists towards being more active members of multidisciplinary teams such as where antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) is concerned and pharmacy expertise can make a difference to ensuring the right antibiotic or antimicrobial drug is used. The CPA have achieved this through the ongoing success of our Commonwealth Pharmacists for Antimicrobial Stewardship (CwPAMS) programme in partnership with the Tropical Health and Education Trust (THET).
The CPA joins pharmacists all over the world to celebrate their collective efforts and congratulates them for driving change towards achieving global health sustainability by making healthcare more accessible and effective for the patients who rely on it.
Happy World Pharmacists Day!