Research On The Management System Of National Licensed Pharmacists' Qualification

Licensed pharmacist is a particular and professional key member in health practitioner team and makes great contribution to ensuring drug quality, delivering pharmaceutical care and promoting public health. The National Licensed Pharmacist System has been in effect for nearly two decades in China and there are more than230thousands pharmacists with qualification. China’s center government published the national drug safety planning for the12th five-year emphasizing on promoting licensed pharmacist system. Pharmacist qualification certification is the beginning of the licensed pharmacist system and has a profound meaning in improving the development of pharmacist team. By analyzing China’s current pharmacist qualification certification and summarizing the key problems, comparing with pharmacists qualification certification management in developed countries and with the physician and nurse qualification certifications, provide some suggestion and information in improving the national pharmacist qualification certification management and pharmacy higher education.The primary materials are some updated data, laws and regulations, standards, guidelines and syllabus from the domestic and overseas government website related to pharmacist qualification certification including the pharmacists registered authorities, accreditation authorities for pharmacy degree and pharmacy practice, pharmacist examination organization, pharmacy higher education organs and pharmacist associations. The secondary data is mainly from the published papers.By using the management principles to analyse China’s current pharmacist qualification certification and finding the key problems. Licensed pharmacist in China is the same as the concept named registered pharmacist worldwide. HongKong, Macao and Taiwan in China has their own management systems dealing with pharmacist qualification certification. Choose USA, Canada, UK, Australia, Singapore and Japan as comparative target and HongKong, Macao, Taiwan are also included. Compare the pharmacist qualification certification policies, pharmacy degree and pharmacy practice requirements and the qualification examinations. Pharmacists as well as physicians and nurses are all health practitioners and qualification certification management among them should be the same level of requirement. By comparing of qualification examination systems among licensed pharmacist, licensed physicians and licensed nurses in the fields of their respective requirements, syllabus, contents, examination management and so on.A perfect pharmacist qualification certification system plays an important role in promoting pharmacist’s knowledge, skills and competency as well as in guiding the pharmaceutical higher education. Pharmacist’s role has turned from "making drugs" to "making drugs work". Problems in quality, quantity and structure of the pharmacist team attribute to specific provisions related to pharmacist qualification certification management.Developed countries have long history and rich experiences in licensed pharmacist system and specific features can be found in the pharmacist qualification certification management:pharmacists conduct standards and competency requirements are formulated, various levels of examinations according to corresponding registration, professional accreditation in pharmacy degrees and pharmacy practice leading to a registered pharmacist, comprehensive and practice-based examinations with various types.Physician and nurse qualification certifications have the following features compared with pharmacist:laws and regulations are formulated, physician qualification certification has two levels, majors and practice requirements are clear and definite, comprehensive and practice-based examinations focused on analyzing and solving problems capability.By comparing and comprehensive analyzing, some suggestions are proposed:to formulate pharmacist act, to advance mutual qualification certification between licensed pharmacist and pharmacist with positional titles, to relax restrictions in working years requirement while raise the requirement of pharmacy degree, to add levels of qualification certification, to make the major requirement definite, to improve the accreditation of pharmacy degree leading to a licensed pharmacist and to make the qualification examination comprehensive, competency and practice-based.