Replaceable, or Irreplaceable?

HealthPharmacy
Last updated on
Avatar photo
By Bryan Tan Van Hong

Publicity Associate at YPC. Currently working in Esyms, an online pharmacy platform and Registered Pharmacist at a retail pharmacy. Oh, and not to forget, pun enthusiast.

Written by Bryan Tan – Marketing and Communications Associate at YPC, currently a PRP at a retail pharmacy, and pun enthusiast

 

The director of the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA) Datin Dr Faridah Aryani Md Yusof stated that amidst the impending Industrial Revolution 4.0, pharmacists roles will not be replaced by technology. It is still a field which requires human touch.

“The services and advice provided by pharmacists should not be replaced despite the advancement in technological aspects such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and robotics,” said Dr Faridah after the closing ceremony of the recent Negeri Sembilan Pharmacy conference. “IR 4.0 doesn’t just involve robotics, but also Big Data, which requires humans to operate.”

We know for a fact that the advancement in technology is inevitable, and there WILL be some aspects in the pharmacist profession which will be operated by machines. However, as Dr Faridah stated, the core role of a pharmacist involves humanly interaction with patients and this is not possible with machines alone.

Do you agree with Dr Faridah’s statements?

 

(image source: CommsMEA)

Related

With so much time now spent at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, what shall we do besides binging on Netflix and perfecting the art of making Dalgona coffee? Yeap, tis’ the season for growth! 📈 MPS YPC Professional Development team had taken this opportunity to organize the very first YPC Live Podcast. What better...

World Pharmacists Day (WPD) 2018

Last updated on
The annual World Pharmacists Day (WPD) celebration, took place on 20th and 21st of October at MyTown Cheras. With this year’s theme of ‘Pharmacists: Your medicines experts’, this nation-wide celebration aims to raise awareness to the public about the many roles and contributions of pharmacists to the healthcare system. This two-day event was officiated by...

Stop Taking Nan Bao!

Last updated on

If you are one of those who consumes ‘Nan Bao’ capsules, be aware that the Health Ministry’s National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA) has released a statement that all sellers and distributors of this traditional supplement to stop all sales and distribution as it is against the Sale of Drugs Act 1952 and the Control of…

Recall of Losartan

Last updated on

On early March, the Ministry of Health Malaysia released a statement regarding the recall of 7 types of medication containing the active ingredient Losartan. This came about after some of these angiotension II receptor blocker (ARB) were found to contain unacceptable amount of nitrosamine, a substance which is possibly carcinogenic, or has the potential to…

Stable Coronary Artery Disease (2nd Edition)

Last updated on
The previous clinical practice guidelines for the management of stable angina were issued in 2010. Since then, there have been advances in both diagnostic and therapeutic strategies in the management of this progressive disease. Therefore, it is timely for the publication of this CPG, with a title that is now evolved from stable angina to...

Family planning a human right

Last updated on
Shush! Family planning – a common taboo in our society. Many still tread lightly around this topic. Family planning education is important and should be made available to everyone. Due to the lack of education, it is not a surprise that unintended pregnancies are still occurring. Other areas that also contribute to this are the...

Others

A Foreword by Dr Mai Chun-Wai

Last updated on

2018 was an exciting year for us. During this year’s Annual Business Meeting, a new steering committee structure was approved by the members of MPS-YPC, which we have then expanded our service. In the past, MPS-YPC developed series of continuous professional development (CPD) for the young pharmacists. In 2018, we have expanded the collaboration with…

A Bed of R.O.S.E.S for Women in Malaysia

Last updated on

On Jan 14, 2019, our Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail launched the Removing Obstacles to Cervical Screening (R.O.S.E.), a pilot programme launched by Universiti Malaya (UM) and VCS Foundation (VCSF) of Australia. This programme was first mentioned in an article by the Star back in 2017. A memorandum of understanding…

For the past week, the public (and that includes health care professionals) has been dumbfounded by the sheer impact of the toxic dump which happened along Sungai Kim Kim in Pasir Gudang, Johor. The incident, believed to have happened on 7 March has led to a plethora of health issues concerning the residents in the…

Written by Bryan Tan – Marketing and Communications Associate at YPC, currently a PRP at a retail pharmacy, and pun enthusiast   From 1 July onwards, those who still smoke cigarettes at eateries will be issued summons. Despite the announcement of the ban earlier this year, many eateries can still be seen drowning in cigarette…

UPDATED (as of 19th Nov 2020) : Malaysia has decided to pay RM94 million upfront and share guarantee payments upon signing the COVAX facility agreement. This is part of the RM3 billion allocated in Budget 2021 to cover COVID-19 vaccine supply access and development. The Malaysian government has also signed another agreement with the Chinese...

Vaccine, or Vacc-out?

Last updated on

An infant aged 2 years and 1 month recently succumbed to a very preventable disease – diptheria. It was reported that the infant was never once immunised since birth and passed away on 21 February due to severe diptheria with multiorgan failure. Diptheria is caused by the Corynebacterium diphtheriae bacteria and can be communicated via…