Pakistan like most other developing countries has the older ways of delivering healthcare to its people. It still relies on old ways of getting medical information and sometimes it is harder to get that in time. We as frontline doctors rely on textbooks if available to give us answers or rely on internet with far advanced knowledge than what is going to work in our local circumstances. The doctors that deal with the patients in an emergency situation have to rely on their mental abilities and old books present in the place of work to refresh their memory and to improve the level of care. Recent increase in the use of smart phones and medical applications have positively impacted the medical care delivery.
When utilizing the services available through the smart phone and Internet we should realize that the services are developed in the western hemisphere of the world especially in Europe or North America and sometimes fail to cater to the situation in Pakistan. Our healthcare delivery system should also be strong enough in the research and innovation to help create solutions unique to people of Pakistan.
I came across one such service that is essential and has been established by a pharmaceutical company. This service is called Pharmassist. The basic theme or idea behind this service is to provide people with right knowledge or information to help them make important decisions.
This service is pharmacist assisted service and is catering to all segments of healthcare system including the patients. The pharmacist educate callers regarding medications, diagnosis overdosage, poisons and other general medical topics. The pharmacist uses different software’s available in the world which means that information is reliable and authentic. Since it is delivered by trained pharmacist who have the working background and local knowledge, so it adds value in assisting people in more efficient way.
This service was established six months ago and slowly gaining traction. It has an enormous potential to expand and provide much-needed informational help in times of need. It is of utmost importance for the physicians to get the information needed in time for the better quality healthcare delivery. Once the information is delivered and the care is done, the patients can also call this service and get information about there diseases, treatment modalities as well as precautions.
This service is for the limited hours of the day at this point but Pharmevo is planning to expand the hours. It will allow the callers to call in odd hours and get the information. This information does not replace or substitute for the doctors consultation but will add for the understanding got the patients. It also can be help in improving the compliance of patients to medications. We also envision plenty of research into the nature of issues the patients and healthcare workers present with as well as other aspects of research like satisfaction with the understanding and the care provided to the patients. We can also look into different kind of drug overdose and other issues after data from at least two years will be available.
I believe this is a step in the right direction and pharmevo should be commended for such an important service to other communities. They have my full support both morally and intellectual in making it even better.