In just one year since joining forces with community-building
platform SwipeRx and the Philippine Pharmacists Association Inc. (PPhA), Sanofi
Consumer Healthcare has upskilled a total 6,457 pharmacists nationwide through its
revolutionary learning platform, PharmAcademy.
“As we now know, for every Filipino that visits their
local doctor, 10 visit their local pharmacist for medical advice, so the more
professionals we are able to teach through PharmAcademy, the more patient lives
we are able to touch on-ground,” said Monsinee Sathirakawinskul, Sanofi
Consumer Healthcare Country Head for
Philippines CHC ASEA Zone.
Bridging the communal gaps in health literacy with the
help of pharmacists
Officially launched in the Philippines during PPhA’s
2023 National Conference, PharmAcademy is a platform to equip pharmacists with
the skills to play a more proactive role in disease management and prevention, especially
in counseling about illnesses that can be prevented by lifestyle adjustments
and proper self-care.
For this
year’s conference, PPhA placed a focus on the state of Non-Alcoholic Fatty
Liver Disease (NAFLD) and Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH). A 2023 study published
in the Annals of Hepatology revealed that 4% of deaths annually in the world are
caused by liver disease, and has become a pressing matter in the Philippines as
well.
Dr. Denis Cua Ngo, President of the Philippine Society
of Gastroenterology provided key insights on the severity of the disease in the
country, saying, “We are facing epidemic of obesity which will almost
inevitably result in an increase in rates of NAFLD and NASH, and eventually a
burden of end-stage liver disease."
In the Philippines alone, around 27 cases in 1,000
deaths in the Philippines can be attributed to liver disease. While alarming in
number, lifestyle modification and proactive liver care remain to be the
cornerstone of prevention. Pharmacists are instrumental in promoting proper
healthcare practices within the communities they serve, making learning tools
like PharmAcademy even more relevant, especially in tackling cases of NAFLD and
NASH.
Changing the pharmacy practice one accreditation at a
time
Only on its second year in the Philippines,
PharmAcademy has aided in the progress of proactive healthcare at the forefront
of pharmacist education. To date, 2,314 pharmacists have received
CPD-accreditation for completing Immunology 101, while 2,219 have been
accredited for mastering the ABCs of multivitamins.
Gut health was also a prominent part of the
pharmacists’ education, with the alliance having issued a combined total of
2,785 accreditations on the following modules: Gut Immunity and the role of Probiotics
in Diarrhea Management, and Case-Based Approach to Digestive Health.
Regulated by the Professional Regulation Commission
(PRC), these modules work to improve over-the-counter patient care overall,
allowing upskilled pharmacists enough knowledge to confidently fulfill their
role as frontline healthcare providers.
The interest to explore post-pandemic servicing
strategies were also evident, as a total of 4,961 completed soft skill modules covering
topics like “Pandemic communication barriers with customers” and “Understanding
customers’ behaviors post-COVID.”
These soft skills are essential in advising for
individual patient care and help pharmacists better understand the importance
of effective communication during crises, where patient uncertainty and anxiety
is at its peak.
As PharmAcademy persists to upskill pharmacists across
the nation, its second year will now include interactive sessions with industry
thought leaders and offline knowledge-transfer sessions, on top of the readily
available modules that pharmacists can access on the SwipeRx app.
“By enabling pharmacists and pharmacist assistants to
step into their role as the primary healthcare providers of their community, we
empower each patient who seek their guidance to have more control of their
healthcare journey, ultimately allowing them to put their health into their own
hands,” Dr. Yvonne Ferrer, Sanofi Consumer Healthcare ASEA Medical Lead, concluded.
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