Essentials in Pharmacy Practice

TLA8: Assessment Questions

 Does the Philippines have a national medicine policy or policies in place to

promote rational medicine use, such as national standard treatment guidelines or

an essential medicines list? Are there regulations that seek to control medicine

use? For example, restricting the sale of antibiotics to prescription only?

The Philippines has a national medicine policy, the Philippine Medicines Policy (PMP)

2020-2030, promoting rational medicine use and supporting the Universal Health Care Act

through mandatory health insurance coverage and health care services, ensuring access, quality,

safety, and affordability for all Filipinos. Some of the principal elements that comprise the

Philippine Pharmaceutical Policy (PMP) include The National Drug Policy-Pharmaceutical

Management Unit, the Philippine National Formulary (PNF), the promotion of generic

medications, and the enhancement of regulatory frameworks of the Food and Drug

Administration (FDA). The PNF is a list of essential medications chosen for prescription,

distribution, and procurement in the public sector; the PMP is arranged and assessed by the

NDPMU. These aim to increase the accessibility and usage of high-quality, reasonably priced

medication and educate the general public and health professionals on responsible drug use.

In the Philippines, The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) controls antibiotic sales to

individuals with prescriptions only. To combat antibiotic resistance, a major threat to public

health, antibiotics are categorized as prescription medications that need a valid prescription from

a licensed doctor or dentist. The FDA also keeps an eye on whether pharmacies, drugstores, and

other businesses that sell or administer antibiotics are abiding by the laws. Sanctions or fines

may be imposed for breaking the law in several ways, including selling antibiotics without a
prescription, distributing antibiotics that are outdated or unregistered, or using the wrong dosages

or forms.

The National Antibiotic Guidelines, published by the DOH in 2017, offer a framework for

the use of Antimicrobial Stewardship (AMS) in hospital settings. The systematic use of

antimicrobial drugs to prevent or minimize antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and enhance patient

outcomes is known as antimicrobial stewardship or AMS. As part of the Philippine Action Plan

to Combat Antimicrobial Resistance (PAPCAR), the Department of Health (DOH) in the

Philippines has designated AMS as a priority initiative. The recommendations include

antimicrobial stewardship interventions, surveillance and monitoring, education and training,

leadership and governance, and infection prevention and control. The DOH hopes to promote

AMS to additional healthcare settings and offers technical support and recognition to hospitals

that adopt AMS programs. AMS is essential for preventing AMR, maintaining the effectiveness

of antibiotics, enhancing patient care, and contributing to the global fight against AMR.

To wrap it up, the World Health Organization states that the Philippines can benefit from a

national medicine strategy in a number of ways. These guidelines assure that patients receive the

best and most affordable medications for their medical demands, at dosages that are suitable for

them in particular, for an adequate length of time, and at the lowest possible cost. Better health

outcomes, financial savings, easier access to necessary medications, and higher-quality treatment

are all possible results. Effective utilization of medications can lower rates of illness and death,

lessen the occurrence of undesirable drug reactions and drug resistance, and ensure that

everyone, regardless of financial situation, has access to the medications they need.

 What unbiased resources are available to prescribers regarding information on

pharmaceuticals?
 The US FDA is a reliable source of unbiased information on medicines that oversees the

efficacy and safety of medications, medical devices, and other healthcare products. It has a

stringent evaluation procedure for authorizing new medications and keeps an eye on their safety

once approved. The FDA publishes a range of information on drugs, such as MedWatch, a

program that enables patients and medical professionals to report adverse events, and drug

approval labels and drug safety messages. For accessing information regarding pharmaceuticals

and medical devices, the FDA also maintains a website. Although the FDA receives funding from

the pharmaceutical sector, which might lead to questions about bias. In order to avoid these, the

FDA has standards and processes to ensure fair and transparent decision-making by employing a

significant number of independent scientists and healthcare experts.

Evidence-based clinical practice guidelines and medical publications are reliable sources of

unbiased information for prescribers about medications. Peer-reviewed medical journals offer

research on the most recent developments in medicine. These expert-developed evidence-based

guidelines identify which is the best approach to utilize medications for specific medical

conditions. Information on the efficacy and safety of medications is also available on official

government websites, such as those run by the FDA and WHO.

Comprehensive information about drugs, including dose, indications, contraindications, side

effects, and drug interactions, is available in the subscription-based database Lexicomp. Like

DynaMed, UpToDate is a clinical decision support system that offers evidence-based knowledge

on a range of medical issues. While PubMed is a free biomedical literature database, not all of

the publications are published under peer review. The Cochrane Library is an open-access

resource that contains systematic reviews and meta-analyses. It is often regarded as the most

reliable source of evidence-based knowledge on medical treatments.

Prescribers can obtain information on the safe and efficient use of medications from the

Department of Health (DOH) through official publications like the Philippine National

Formulary (PNF). It contains details about the dose, use, side effects, and drug interactions of

necessary medications. The Essential Drug List of the Philippines (EDLP) is a list of medications

chosen for their relevance to public health, effectiveness, safety, and affordability. Offering

objective information about medications, the Philippine Drug Information Center (PDIC) is a

government-run resource. Prescribers can also obtain information on the safe and efficient use of

medications from the UP Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH) Formulary. Information about

using medications safely and effectively may also be found in the Drug Formulary of the

Philippine Society of Pharmacology and Therapeutics (PSPT).

In conclusion, in prescribing medications, prescribers should, nonetheless, always rely on

their own discretion and take each patient's individual medical attention to ensure the

improvement of the patient's quality of life.

 Has an assessment been done to evaluate the level of antimicrobial resistance in

the country?

Since 1988, the Philippines' Antibiotic Resistance Surveillance Program (ARSP) has been

monitoring antibiotic resistance. It offers vital support for the promotion of responsible drug use

by identifying the prevalence and patterns of antibiotic resistance. Coordinating the efforts of the

human, animal, and environmental sectors, the Philippines has created a national action plan to

address antimicrobial resistance through the implementation of the program One Health

approach.
 The Department of Health (DOH) launched the Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance

Program (ARSP) as a nationwide project to track trends in antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in

aerobic bacteria. It offers information to direct the use of antibiotics and create strategies to

address AMR. The ARSP has produced yearly reports on the occurrence and spread of

antimicrobial resistance and carried out Salmonella spp. genomic surveillance. In the Philippines,

outlining the invasive non-typhoidal Salmonella (iNTS) epidemiology and Antimicrobial

Resistance profile from 2014 to 2018. Along with teaching healthcare professionals on antibiotic

stewardship and infection prevention and control, the program also accredits bacteriology labs.

On the other hand, the goal of the One Health approach is to address health issues including

interactions between people, animals, plants, and the environment. It encourages cooperation

between many fields and specialties, such as the social sciences, veterinary medicine, agriculture,

public health, and environmental science. It entails involving a range of stakeholders in the

development and application of comprehensive and equitable solutions, including governments,

academic institutions, civil society, and the commercial sector. The One Health concept has

several advantages, such as further enhancing food security and safety, mitigating the detrimental

effects of human activity on ecosystems, and avoiding, identifying, and responding to newly

developing infectious diseases. During the COVID-19 pandemic, in particular, the strategy has

drawn increased attention from eminent international organizations such as the World Health

Organization, Food and Agriculture Organization, and World Organization for Animal Health

advocating for its implementation at various levels.

In summary, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major public health problem in the

Philippines and across the world. Assessing AMR can offer insight into the scope of the problem,

identify impacted groups, and drive intervention development. Advantages may include educated
decision-making, improved patient outcomes, financial savings, and global health security.

Global policies, research objectives, and treatment standards can all benefit from accurate

forecasts. Evaluating antimicrobial resistance (AMR) can also save costs associated with

healthcare, lower AMR and illnesses linked to healthcare, and make it easier to evaluate

treatments over time.

References
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%20of%20medicines.pdf?sequence=1
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https://ritm.gov.ph/national-antibiotic-guidelines-2017/
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