Good Pharmacy Practice education conference 2019: Day two

The second day of GPPEd began with a panel discussion and interactive session on the topic of vaccines. Along with debunking most prevalent anti-science beliefs, the discussion also focused on the aspect of awareness. The panelists agreed that a lack of awareness was the leading cause of vaccine denial. However, they emphasized that in order to eradicate this denial, not only the benefits of the vaccines but the dire consequences of the related disorder must also be conveyed to patients.

The panel consisted of Anushna from MCOPS who provided the perspective of pharmacists, Ameen from CRV represented virologists, Ishita from KMC represented doctors and Christy from MCON represented the perspective of nurses. Each side explained the role of their profession in this issue.

The panel was moderated by Ashutosh from MCOPS and was an enlightening experience for the delegates.

Next was the workshop on pharmacoeconomics and outcomes research by Dr. Pradeep Muragundi. Dr.Muragundi is an associate professor in the Department of Pharmacy Management, MCOPS. He has received a PhD from MAHE. The workshop started off with Dr. Muragundi outlining the session and he described that it would be a session of basic research and enquiry about the field of pharmacoeconomics. The modules were divided into three broad categories: Introduction, Identifying and measuring costs, Deciding costs based on perspective and lastly methods of pharmacoeconomic evaluation.

Dr. Muragundi provided an idea of the field by analyzing how a drug is provided to consumers. On this topic, he talked about three essential parameters- quality, safety and efficacy of the drugs in question. He proceeded to solidify the concept outlining the research that goes into improving these parameters- to make drugs more safe, efficient and of high quality. ‘Is it worth it or not?’ Through these words, he introduced pharmacoeconomics- the measure of costs and outcomes generated. After covering institutions such as insurance, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, he explained the difference between health economics and the multi-disciplinary forum. From that, he proceeded to the second part of the workshop titled ‘Identifying and measuring costs’. This module contained exercises that all the attendees worked on. Exercise one focused on identifying the types of costs an individual has to pay based on real-life situations and exercise two focused on classifying these costs.

In the afternoon, the delegates were escorted to Alva’s Medical College located in Moodbudri which stands 55km away from the city of Manipal. Alva’s Ayurveda Hospital, a unit of Alva’s Education Foundation (set.1996) provides customized care in various specialisations to provide patients with nothing short of the best in preventive and curative care.

The students initially started their tour by visiting the medicinal garden which is the prime source of all the medical ingredients for compounding. Following the medical garden, was the visit to the compounding unit where the students witnessed live ayurvedic compounding. Lastly, the delegates were given a tour of the be shown in and around their hospital which helped them understand the roots of Indian medicine and how the profession of pharmacy is so different in the Ayurveda as compared to allopathy.

The delegates had a free night in the evening where they explored the coastal cuisine and the unexplored roads of Manipal and waited patiently for a new day to begin.

Written by- 

Ashutosh, Shalom and Sriya

Photographed by-

Sanjana and Saradindu

 

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