Tuesday, 27 August 2013 00:00
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More than 500 employees of pharmacies have been provided valuable information and guidance through a series of seminars conducted this year by GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals (GSK), as a service to the sector.
Three seminars held in Kiribathgoda, Thalawathugoda and Kandy under GSK’s Pharmacy Education Program covered topics such as Quality Assurance in Pharmaceuticals, Childhood Nutrition, Management of Asthma, Selling Skills and Customer Care, and also provided important updates on regulatory matters, the company said.
Presentations were made by experts from the company as well as administrators from agencies responsible for the pharmaceuticals sector.
The principal objectives of the program, which was initiated by GSK several years ago, is to improve the quality of service offered to customers of pharmacies through enhancing the knowledge of pharmacists and promoting compliance with regulatory requirements and best practices.
Participants at these seminars include qualified pharmacists, pharmacy assistants and apprentice pharmacists.
“As a global pharmaceutical company and industry leader, GSK is committed to contributing to the quality of healthcare in the country by supporting and encouraging professional development of those serving the sector,” said Sri Lanka GSK Pharmaceuticals Managing Director Stuart Chapman. “Knowledgeable pharmacists are integral to the development of professionalism in the dispensing of medicines in Sri Lanka.”
He said similar seminars are to be conducted in Jaffna, Kurunegala, and Galle, in the course of the year under this initiative.
GSK has also sponsored the production by the Pharmaceutical Society of Sri Lanka (PSSL) of a handy guide for students preparing for the External Pharmacists Examination conducted by the Ceylon Medical College Council. The first publication of its kind in Sri Lanka, the 176-page book contains question papers from past examinations and a section containing practical calculations and directions for preparations that are done at pharmacies.
One of the world’s leading research-based pharmaceutical and healthcare companies, GSK and its predecessors have been doing business in Sri Lanka since the late 1930s. Globally, 1,100 prescriptions are written for GSK products every minute. GSK is the only pharmaceuticals company to tackle the three ‘priority diseases’ identified by the World Health Organisation (WHO): HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.
