Asian Young Pharmacist Group (AYPG) Leadership Forum 2015, Taipei
Date: 15 to 16 Aug 2015
Venue: Taiwan Medical University (TMU)
Country Participants: Singapore, Taiwan, Malaysia, Japan, Indonesia, Cambodia and Philippines
Representatives from Singapore: Ms Chean Ning Wei Tracy and Mr Anson Lim; Ex-officios of Pharmaceutical Society of Singapore (PSS) Young Pharmacist Chapter (YPC)
Audience: Taiwanese pharmacists and pharmacy undergraduates (approx. 50 persons)
Founded in 2011, Asian Young Pharmacist Group (AYPG) holds a YPG Section Meeting during the biennial Federation Asian Pharmaceutical Association (FAPA) Congress as a communication platform between Asian young pharmacists. Since the pharmaceutical environment has been changing rapidly, exchanging ideas every two years rarely reflect the real situation. Therefore, the AYPG Leadership Forum takes place alternately with FAPA congress on the years when the congress is not held. This is to enhance the information exchange between young pharmacists and create more cooperation between members. Based on the topic that the host sets, AYPG invites members to share experiences and discuss the roles and functions of young pharmacists.
Aside from the above mentioned country participants, Mr Joseph Wang (President of the Federation of Asian Pharmaceutical Association & current Chief of Songshan District, Taipei), Ms Mei-Ling Hsiao (Chairman of Pharmaceuticals Benefit and Reimbursement Schedule Joint Committee & Advisor at Ministry of Health and Welfare), academic professors of TMU, together with Taiwan YPG hosted and sponsored the forum. Each country started with a presentation of their country’s current work force distribution and status of dispensing rights. There was interactive knowledge exchange during the meeting as well as various workshops where participants were split into groups to enhance interactions. The Taiwanese young pharmacists were particularly interested about the different working conditions and culture of pharmacists in Asia. Challenges and opportunities of pharmacists in various Asian countries were also discussed.
Many future initiatives were discussed with the main purpose of engaging maximum active participation from all Asian countries. Structure of a survey was also discussed and all participating countries to collate required information for further action. PSS YPC accepted the task of reaching out to Pharmaceutical Association of Thailand to form an official Young Pharmacist Group for inclusion into 2016 AYPG. It would be timely for FAPA 2016 as it will be hosted in Bangkok.
As part of the post forum excursion tours, we were invited to visit two community pharmacies together with representatives from the Taiwan Young Pharmacists’ Group as well Young Pharmacists’ Chapter of Malaysian Pharmaceutical Society. The first was Yes Chain Pharmacy in Xin Bei City, just outside Taipei City. The owner, Mr Wang Nan Yuan, is a member of the Taiwan Young Pharmacists' Group. He gave us an overview of the national health insurance in Taiwan and how drugs purchased at the community pharmacies are in turn reimbursed by the government. He also showed us how the pharmacists have been playing an active role in managing the health of the community. For instance, his regular customers can come to his pharmacy to measure blood glucose and blood pressure. These data can then be transmitted onto a portal where the hospital counterparts can access and make necessary titration to the medications for the patients.
The second community pharmacy, called Dong An Pharmacy, was located in Yi Lan County. It specialises in filling prescriptions for diabetes medications. Next to the pharmacy, there is a diabetes clinic and a resource centre for diabetic patients and their caregivers. The three entities provided a one stop centre for diabetic patients. The pharmacists working in Dong An Pharmacy have received advanced training in diabetic care so they are able to titrate the doses of anti-diabetic medications, such as insulin, for their patients. This is similar to our pharmacists-run clinics in Singapore.
The trip to Taiwan has proved to be fruitful as we have forged great friendship with young pharmacists from the region as well as to better understand the situation of young pharmacists in the Asian region. Stay tuned for more updates from the YPC for regional exchange opportunities.
Written by: Mr Anson Lim & Ms Tracy Chean
