Pharmacists key to patient well being: Azad

New Delhi, Jul 9 : President Pratibha Devisingh Patil has said that Pharmacy education in the country should be constantly revised and updated to meet tomorrow's challenges.

She emphasized that there is a need to create awareness about the role of pharmacists in the health care delivery. For this educators will need to develop an environment to create well rounded pharmacists who are knowledgeable and aligned with the health care needs of people.

Speaking on the occasion Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Ghulam Nabi Azad announced that in order to give recognition to the role played by the pharmacists in the health care delivery, the National Pharmacists Day will be declared soon.

The Minister also announced that there will be national award instituted for the pharmacists on the lines of B.C. Roy Award for Doctors and Florence Nightingale Award for Nurses. The President appreciated the Minister's quickness to grasp the good ideas and said that the award will encourage the pharmacists to achieve greater heights.

Azad said that pharmacists cannot only act as dispensers of good quality and cheap drugs but also act as watchdogs to counter the menace of spurious drugs in the country.

The Minister told the audience about the whistle blower scheme that has been instituted to help the Government in tracking down manufacturers of spurious drugs. He also encouraged the pharmacists to join the teams working in the rural areas.

The Pharmacy Council is celebrating its 60th anniversary.