Dr Hilal al Sabti, Minister of Health inaugurated the Oman International Pharmacy Congress and Exhibition (OIPCX), at the Oman Convention and Exhibition Center on Sunday in the presence of a large gathering of medical, pharmaceutical and other healthcare professionals.
Organised by the Ministry of Health (MoH) represented by the Directorate General of Medical Supplies, the theme of this year Congress is 'Shaping the Future of Pharmaceutical Services', which is guided by Oman Vision 2040, Health Vision 2050, the Sustainable Development Goals, the WHO Global action plan for the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases and the Global NCD Compact to move towards universal health coverage.
The three-day conference and Exhibition is attracting more than 1,000 experts and specialists in pharmacy from across the world.
"This year's (OIPCX) is different for its inclusive scientific programme that covers various areas of pharmacy ranging from pharmacy education, supply chains, pharmaceutical regulatory affairs, moving to patient-centered pharmaceutical care, noting that Universal Health Care is of great importance to all professions and decision-makers working in the health field in general and in pharmacy in particular," said Ibrahim al Rashdi, Director-General and Chairman of OIPCX, in his key address.
Referring to the scientific programme, the Director-General noted that the role of clinical pharmacy skills in Primary Health Care will be underpinned through lectures and interactive sessions focusing on the role of the pharmacist in a multidisciplinary team.
"This programme will contain training workshops in collaboration with the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) and Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS)," he said.
Al Rashdi stated that in order to promote efforts in supply chains, the DGMS will contract with ASHP and CIPS to obtain professional certificates and establish an effective system for managing supply shortages. Biosimilar is one of the focus areas of the congress addressing the strategies for ensuring safe and effective usage of interchangeable biosimilar, added the Director General of Medical Supplies.
Due to its importance, medication safety has been reviewed with Gulf Drug Safety officials at a meeting held on Sunday discussing challenges that limit the implementation of drug safety programmes, and developing strategies to ensure patient safety in order to achieve the Ministry’s vision and implementation of Oman Vision 2040, Al Rashdi highlighted.
Dr Paul W. Bush, Vice President of Global Resources Development and Consulting American Society of Health –System Pharmacists, presented the Congress Keynote entitled “It Takes a Multidisciplinary Team to Manage Drug Shortages”.
Dr Al Sabti toured the exhibition being held on the sidelines of the conference. It showcased international manufacturers of medicines and medical devices, as well leading pharmacies in the Sultanate of Oman, in addition to the pharmaceutical industry sector.
The Congress brought together 95 international, gulf, and local well-regarded experts and speakers who are delivering through three days a number of 105 local and international working papers on the latest developments in the pharmaceutical practice distributed in 14 workshops, two panel discussions. Furthermore, 42 posters prepared by health practitioners and Pharmacy students are due to be presented.
Caption: Dr Hilal al Sabti, Minister of Health, visits the expo, which was held on the sidelines of OIPCX in Muscat
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