The province first ever Drug Information and Poison Control Centre was inaugurated at the Department of Pharmacy University of Peshawar. The centre is aimed at providing independent, authentic and accurate drug information to assist the health professionals in rational prescribing for optimizing patient care.
The Centre was formally inaugurated by KP Senior Minister Shahram Khan Tarakai. He was accompanied by Vice Chancellor UoP Prof. Dr. Muhammad Rasul Jan.
Addressing the ceremony the senior minister said that the KP government was looking towards innovation from the highest seat of learnings and would ensure that their efforts are tied with industry He added the budget of the IT and Science and Technology has been increased by 100 % in the coming fiscal budget so as to encourage the youth and scientists of the province.
Mr Tarakai said that establishment of an IT excellence centre was in the making in the province. He added his government was against the powers of status quo saying that many in the health profession are used to prescribing a number of drugs to the patients which at times causes drug to drug reaction and becomes life threatening.
The Minister vowed to establish Drug Information and Poison Control Centre in all the tertiary care hospitals in the province.
The Vice Chancellor UoP Prof. Dr. Muhammad Rasul Jan said that modern role of University has changed from dishing out degrees only, to providing service to the community and the establishment of the drug centre was step in this direction. He thanked the Directorate of Science and Technology for allocating 60 million rupees for its research projects.
Earlier Project supervisor Prof. Dr. Jamshaid Ali Khan said that the centre was aimed at providing treatment to the patients within the ambit of WHO standards and to avoid over usage of drugs. He added services like drug interaction and their management, drugs contradictory in pregnancy and lactation, drug storage conditions and mode of drug interaction would be provided to pharmaceutical companies and health professionals in the Drug Information and Poison Control Centre.
Source: The Frontier Post.
