The Department of Pharmacy Practice of MCOPS, established at Kasturba Medical College Hospital, Manipal in 2001, specializes in Clinical Pharmacy services. The department caters to the needs of the clinicians and patients by undertaking services such as medication therapy management, patient counselling, drug information services, medication reconciliation, pharmacovigilance, periodic safety update report (PSUR), Clinical Research, health screening program, community outreach program and continuing Pharmacy education program. The expanding roles of the department include the application of evidence-based medicine towards patient safety, pharmaceutical care, pharmacogenomics, translational research and Clinical Research in disease management. The department has a team of 11 dedicated well-trained faculty with ample international exposure. The department has several collaborations with national and international institutes of repute. The department is a peripheral centre for the Pharmacovigilance program of India (PvPI). The department is recognized as a training centre for Pharmabridge program of the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP). Additionally, it is a Certara qualified training centre, which is a program designed to train students in India on the use of Certara software such as Phoenix WinNonlin. Faculties of the department are members in Kasturba hospital committees such as Tumour Board, Pharmacy & Therapeutic Committee and Institutional Ethics Committee. The department represents MAHE for Global TB Portal Consortium of the National Institute of Health (NIH). The faculty of the department also part of Global Cancer Consortium. The faculties have won various national and international scholarships and awards from ISPOR, ISPE, NPS, CICS, CSIR, DST, ICMR, ACCP/ISoP etc. Our research activities are funded by several governmental funding agencies such as ICMR, DST, DHR and AICTE and foreign grants from the National Institute of Health (NIH), USA, and Griffith University, Australia. The departmental h-index (scopus) of 42 demonstrates our scholarly influence.

The faculty members have been trained at first-rate universities and hospitals abroad including the University of Michigan, University of Southern California, Tufts Medical Centre, Boston Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, Canada, Uppsala University, Sweden, to name a few. We have expertise in diverse areas such as Medication review, Patient safety programs, Pharmacometrics, Pharmacogenomics, Pharmacoeconomics, Clinical Toxicology, Antibiotic stewardship, Assessment of evidence for therapeutics, Translational research, and Clinical Research, etc. To foster operational research, the department has five centres: 1) Centre for Translational Research 2) Centre for Toxicovigilance and Drug Safety 3) Centre for Pharmaceutical Care 4) Centre for Pharmacometrics and 5) Centre for Public Health Pharmacy. In addition, a students' club 'Pharmacy Literacy Club'  (PLC) to provide a platform for skill development and self learning. The department periodically organizes workshops, seminars, symposiums and conferences at the national and international levels. One of such annual program is International Conference on Clinical Pharmacy (CPCON). Clinical skill development and hands-on training are offered to working pharmacists, Clinical Pharmacy training for national and international students and Clinical Research Support.

Click to view Regulations for MPharm Pharmacy Practice programme

Key features:

• Best-in-class infrastructure
• Internationally trained faculty
• Accomplished Alumni in key positions all over the world
• More than 20 years of experience in Clinical Pharmacy education and practice
• International student exchange programs
• Peripheral centre of Pharmacovigilance Program of India
• Periodic Safety Update Report (PSUR) coordinating centre of  Kasturba Hospital
• Collaborations with universities abroad
• Industry-standard data analysis software
• Continuing Pharmacy Educational Programs
• Community outreach programs
• DigiDose - a quarterly newsletter

Core competencies:

• Pharmaceutical care services
• Drug and poison information services
• Pharmacovigilance
• Pharmacometrics
• Pharmacogenomics
• Pharmacoeconomics
• Clinical Toxicology
• Clinical Research
• Clinical Translational Research 
• Antibiotic stewardship
• Pharmacoepidemiology
• Drug Utilization and Evaluation
• Systematic review and Meta-analysis
• Out-come studies in critical care (Risk assessment and prediction modeling)

COLLABORATIONS

International level

• National Institute of Health, USA
  
• University of Southern California, USA
• University of Kentucky, USA
• Griffith University, Australia
• AIMST University, Malaysia
  
• RAK College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, UAE

National level

• All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Jodhpur
• All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhopal
• Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai
• Magna Healthcare, Bangalore
• Anthem Biosciences, Bangalore
• Nerve 24, Mumbai
• Novartis Healthcare, Hyderabad
• Muscle Infotech, Bangalore
• Medorganics, Bangalore

PROGRAMS

PharmD, PharmD (PB) and MPharm in Pharmacy Practice

1. PharmD Program: A six-year professional program leading to a Doctor of Pharmacy degree. This course is unique because it combines the development and application of advanced Clinical Pharmacy skills with contextual research. The program emphasizes an integrated, problem-based approach to disease management, which constitutes the core of the didactic study plan. PharmD comprises of five years of classroom/hospital-based didactic study and a research project followed by one-year’s internship. Core subjects include Pharmacotherapeutics, hospital and Community Pharmacy, Clinical Pharmacy, Clinical Toxicology, Clinical Research, Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics, Biopharmaceutics and Pharmacokinetics, Biostatistics and Research Methodology and Clerkship. The first batch graduated in June 2014.

PharmD  Programme Educational Objectives [PEOs]

PharmD Programme Outcomes [POs]

PharmD Course Outcomes [COs]

2. PharmD (PB) Program:  A three-year program, which includes two years of didactic study (similar to Pharm D), a research project and one-year internship, empowers practicing pharmacists to assume leadership roles that drive professional enrichment. The first batch graduated in August 2011.

PharmD-PB  Programme Educational Objectives [PEOs]

PharmD-PB Programme Outcomes [POs]

PharmD-PB Course Outcomes [COs]

3. MPharm- Pharmacy Practice: Four semesters (Two academic years) of Curriculum constitutes two semesters of classroom/hospital-based didactic study (the abbreviated and intensive version of PharmD curriculum), followed by two semesters of research work.  The broad curriculum offers extensive opportunities that lead to careers in health systems, community Pharmacy, pharmaceutical companies, government, and other public sectors, as well as academic careers. The first batch graduated in 2003.

MPharm Pharmacy Practice Programme Educational Objectives [PEOs]

MPharm Pharmacy Practice Programme Outcomes [POs]

MPharm Pharmacy Practice Course Outcomes [COs]

4. Certificate Course in Translational Research: One week of the course covers fundamentals and hands-on training in translational research from bench-to-bed and vice-versa offering two credits. The first batch started in 2019. For more details, click here

5. Certificate Course in Heath Data Analysis using "R": Four weeks of the course covers theoretical grounding and hands-on experience in health data analysis using the R software platform offering two credits. The first batch started in 2022. For more details, click here

6. Certificate Course in Meta-Analysis and Meta-Synthesis:  Four days of the course covers fundamentals and hands-on training performing metanalysis and metasyntesis using various softwares offering two credits. The first batch started in 2023. 

PHARMACY PRACTICE SERVICES

1. Medication Therapy Management: Customized educational interventions to prevent underutilization, overutilization, inappropriate use, and abuse of certain drugs.

2. Patient Counseling:  Our services go well beyond evaluating patients’ drug profiles. Motivational interviews investigate why patients take medications improperly, break communication barriers with patients and improve their health outcomes by enhancing compliance with physicians’ recommendations.

3. Drug Information Services:  Provides timely, evidence-based drug information to promote safe, rational use of medications.

4. Clinical Toxicology Services: The services include poison information and Toxicology screening for accidental and intentional overdoses of medicines, illicit drugs, and toxins.

5. Medication reconciliation:  Compares patient's medication orders to medication history and helps avoid errors of omission, duplication, incorrect doses or timing and adverse drug-drug or drug-disease interactions.

6. Pharmacovigilance (Adverse drug reaction (ADR) monitoring and reporting): Ensures patient safety and involves causality assessment of Adverse Events, ADR reporting, and monitoring. We assist clinicians in the prevention and management of ADRs

7. Periodic Safety Update Report (PSUR): Periodical reporting of the complete safety experience of newly introduced drugs to regulatory authorities. This is a critical component of a nation-wide program for post-marketing surveillance (Phase-IV study). PSUR helps DCGI to make accurate and unbiased decisions for implementing drug safety. Our Department is the PSUR coordinating centre for Kasturba Hospital, Manipal. We also publish a quarterly PSUR Newsletter.

8. Health Screening Program: Enhances access to screening services to the poor. Our services include monitoring of blood pressure, blood cholesterol, body mass index, and blood glucose.

9. Community Outreach Program: Provides an opportunity to participate in several community health programs round the year, including immunization, patient safety, and health education, to raise awareness about drug use and abuse.

10. Continuing Pharmacy Education Program: We periodically organize workshops, seminars, symposiums and conferences at the national and international level. Clinical skill development and hands-on training are offered to working pharmacists

11. Clinical Pharmacy training for national and international students: We collaborate with many international universities through faculty/student exchange programs. Students from the United States, France and Seychelles and many Indian students from other universities/colleges receive training in Clinical Pharmacy services in our department.

12. Clinical Research Support: We implement, conduct and monitor Clinical Research, support physicians and other healthcare professionals in framing/executing research protocols and publishing research findings.

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

The demand for trained pharmacy professionals has significantly increased in recent years due to the phenomenal growth of the health care services/ pharmaceutical industries. An ageing population, rising trends in chronic illnesses, enhanced insurance cover and higher disposable income are major contributing factors. Pharmacists are becoming more actively engaged in drug therapy decision-making and pharmaceutical care. There is a rising demand for pharmacists in a wide variety of occupational settings.

Following are some of the numerous and diverse career options available to PharmD/ MPharm (Pharmacy Practice) graduates.

1. Clinical Pharmacy Practice:

Pharmacists are increasingly partnering with physicians in assuming responsibility for medication therapy management, especially in chronic diseases such as diabetes, asthma, hypertension. Specialists are emerging in paediatrics, critical care, cardiology, surgery, psychopharmacol, neurology, infectious diseases, and drug information.

2. Community Pharmacy:

Community pharmacists often constitute the first line of health care. In addition to dispensing medications and monitoring patients for adverse effects and drug interactions, pharmacists provide important counseling services in the choice of over-the-counter medications, referrals to other healthcare providers and healthcare screening programs.

3. Public Services:

State and Central Government Agencies such as State Pharmacy Councils, Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO), Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC) require skilled pharmacists as regulators.

4. Home Healthcare:

Patients formerly treated in a hospital setting are now receiving professional home care. PharmD/MPharm (Pharmacy Practice) graduates can dispense medication, and assist in the administration of intravenous antibiotics, pain management medication, and chemotherapy. Pharmacists can potentially follow practices already prevalent in developed countries in monitoring the patient’s progress, adjusting therapy as needed.

5. Hospital Pharmacy:

Pharmacists in hospitals have a tremendously expanded role within this traditional role. Pharmacist manages operations and plays a decisive role in Pharmacy administration.

6. Managed care:

Popular in developed countries, managed care is a cost-effective, comprehensive and integrated health care plan that emphasizes preventive care. Optimization of drug therapy, development of drug information, evaluation of therapeutic protocols, patient consultation and reducing avoidable hospital visits dominate the managed care environment.

7. The Pharmaceutical Industry:

The Pharmaceutical industry recognizes the need for technical proficiency among product development personnel. Additionally, skills in research and development provide numerous opportunities. Pharm Ds and M Pharms are actively recruited by major pharmaceutical manufacturers for managing pharmacovigilance, Clinical trials, medical writing, medical affairs, etc. 

8. Pharmacoeconomics:

Society’s demand for experts in pharmaco-economics is steadily increasing. Governmental agencies, health insurance providers, professional associations, hospital administration departments, health care consultancy organizations, pharmaceutical companies are likely to recruit more experts in pharmaco-economics.

9. Pharmacy Education:

PharmD curriculum offers a strong foundation in health sciences. PharmD graduates regularly join various colleges that impart Clinical Pharmacy education and research.

10. Specialized Area Opportunities:

Pharmacists with expertise in specialized areas such as consultancy, legal practice, drug information, poison control, and Pharmacy affairs are gaining ground with time. PharmD and MPharm graduates can pursue a PhD to enter academic professions.

11. Research and Postdoc Opportunities:

PharmD graduates are eligible to directly join for Postdoc program in various foreign universities.

12. Foreign Pharmacy Licensure Examinations:

PharmD and MPharm (Pharmacy Practice) graduates are eligible to write various foreign Pharmacy licensure examinations including in the USA. It is one of the mandatory components of the licensure process of most of the Western countries and is used by the boards of Pharmacy as part of their assessment of a candidate’s competence to practice as a pharmacist.

Department of Pharmacy Practice is equipped with well developed tertiary care hospital, well established drug information and patient counseling centre.