Khaberni - The Jordan Pharmacists Association affirmed its full support for the modernization and development in the health sector, especially in the area of medicine and health care provided remotely for those who cannot go to the doctor, considering it one of the pathways to develop health services and improve patient access to care, according to its president, Dr. Zaid Al-Kilani.
Al-Kilani said that the union, after a series of extensive meetings held with specialists from different generations, with representatives from the pharmacists and chains division from all provinces, including the new generation of pharmacists and pharmacy owners under the age of 30, and final-year university students who have a deep understanding of technology, as well as legal pharmacists and technology experts, confirms that the clauses specific to the pharmacy sector in the remote medical system were issued without consensus with the Pharmacists Association and without considering the union's perspective as a representative of the pharmacy sector, and hence we announce our complete rejection of these clauses.
He added: The union was surprised by the issuance of remote medication dispensation instructions isolated from the existence of a unified national medical file for patients, a comprehensive drug tracking system, and integrated instructions that regulate diagnosis and other medical services, whereas the original system should first issue instructions for the doctor and diagnosis, then build a comprehensive system that starts from the medical diagnosis and ends with drug dispensation, not vice versa.
He pointed out that implementing remote medication dispensation instructions in this manner places unfair professional and legal responsibilities on pharmacists, does not align with principles of medical responsibility or patient safety requirements, and overlooks the role of pharmaceutical advice.
He said: The union sees that these instructions empty the pharmacist's role of its health and professional content, and transform it from a healthcare provider and therapeutic partner to merely a sales executor through digitized platforms, at a time when the union has been working for years to develop the clinical pharmacist's role to become an essential part of primary health care, and to enhance their contribution to treatment safety, pharmaceutical follow-up, drug interventions, and patient protection, and for this reason, it was also added to the Jordanian Medical Council.
The union requested the exemption of the pharmacy sector from the system and the cancellation of remote drug dispensation instructions, as originally, an integrated framework for remote health care should be established, preserving the health and professional role of the pharmacist, not reducing it to a commercial or logistical role, and involving the union and relevant professional entities in drafting the final instructions. He affirmed that the union is not against development or digitization, but for organizing it in a fair and responsible manner that ensures patient protection and preserves the dignity of the health professions, and establishes a genuine remote medicine system, not a fragmented one.
