Karachi, 25 January 2023 (TDI): The prestigious American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) accreditation for International Pharmacy Practice Residency Programmes (IPPR) has been granted to the flagship Pharmacy Trainee Program at the Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH).
This has made AKUH the first academic medical center outside of the United States (US), the third hospital worldwide, and the first in Pakistan to receive the coveted three-year accreditation.
The standards of training for pharmacists, who provide essential services in patient care, are raised by this accreditation.
With expert management of the patient’s response and drug interaction, properly dispensed medications ensure their best use and efficacy.
Moreover, the AKUH Pharmacy Residency Programme has elevated its status as a training facility around the world and will act as an example for creating exemplary professionals who will have a positive impact on Pakistani pharmacy practice.
In this vein, more than 800 graduates of the one-year pharmacy traineeship programme, which AKUH has been offering since 1990, are currently providing professional pharmacy services and serving as industry pioneers in Pakistan.
While AKUH’s traineeship programme is now an internationally recognized residency model thanks to accreditation, joining a community of more than 2,000 sites around the globe that offer accredited programmes.
It is pertinent to note that AKUH’s pharmacy traineeship programme complied with strict competencies, educational goals, & objectives, including more than 100 ASHP residency learning objectives and more than 200 quantifiable elements, as part of the accreditation process.
Practice Foundation Skills, Drug Information, Medication Policy, and Drug Safety, Practice Management and Leadership, Patient Care, Education of Others, and Project Management are just a few of the fundamental pharmacy practice areas covered by ASHP standards.
Dr. Farhat Abbas, Interim CEO of AKU Health Services Pakistan congratulated the pharmacy team on achieving this milestone, saying that “the ASHP accreditation is a testament to the fact that our patients are at the forefront of everything we do,”
She further added that “this accreditation is not only a feather in the cap for AKUH but also for the country.” While on his part Dr. Adil Haider, Dean of Medical College, AKU lauded the teams for their dedication and hard work.
He stated that “By getting ASHP-accredited, AKU has demonstrated its continuing commitment to advancing pharmacy practice and providing quality patient care.” Also, accreditation will aid the adoption and implementation of an even higher quality pharmacy practice along with an enhanced residency programme.
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Syed Shamim Raza, the Director of Pharmacy Services, in Pakistan, highlighted the impact of the accreditation by saying that “We set ourselves the goal to develop our pharmacy practices further to fulfill AKUH’s vision of raising the standards of healthcare in Pakistan.
We achieved this goal through the ASHP accreditation which marks us as a world-class institution for hospital pharmacy practice and training, ensuring that our patients benefit from international best practices of pharmacy.”
American Society of Health-System Pharmacists
ASHP is a US-based professional association that represents pharmacists working in hospitals and other healthcare facilities as patient care providers.
They think that by offering accredited pharmacy residency programmes, hospitals are publicly expressing their dedication to improving pharmacy practice and delivering top-notch patient care.
Pharmacy technicians, pharmacists in training, and pharmacists, in general, make up the organization’s roughly 75,000 members.
AKUH pharmacies are regarded as one of the most advanced and extensive institutional pharmacy networks in Pakistan. Through a strong team of highly skilled pharmacists and technicians, they are trusted to provide high-quality and authentic medications.
The pharmacy residency programme, which is the biggest ASHP-accredited programme in the world, seeks to produce qualified pharmacists who have the knowledge and skills to improve the standards of pharmacy practice in Pakistan.
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