Digital Pulse - Ch 3 - Sec 2 - e-Farmasi

Development Issues: General health, self-help, pharmaceuticals

Programme Summary

e-Farmasi is made up of a Community-based Education program on Medicine Use and a Community Pharmacy Management Program, which promote the use of ICT. e-Farmasi is a project that links communities to their neighbourhood pharmacies and provides an impartial database on illnesses and medicines. e-Farmasi will enable the community to access a database of unbiased information about medicines, their use, side effects, directions for use etc. The database will also contain guides to self-care for common minor ailments. A link will be provided for the community to interact with the pharmacies in the neighbourhood, direct questions to the pharmacist and where appropriate, complete a pharmaceutical transaction over the net. A pharmacy management program that will assist pharmacists to manage their pharmacy, keep patient medication records and provide pharmaceutical care will be part of the application.

The goal is to provide patients with ready information that will allow them to:

• Understand the Illness
• Manage the Illness
• Stay Healthy

Summary of ICT Initiatives

Using ICT, community members can direct questions to a pharmacist and where appropriate, complete a pharmaceutical transaction over the net. Part of the project also involves the provision of a pharmacy management program to pharmacists -- to help them manage their pharmacy, keep patient medication records and provide pharmaceutical care.

The proper and correct use of medicines can be greatly enhanced with the availability and utilization of current and relevant information about the medicines. Books and medical literature are not available to everyone but through ICT, a very powerful and convenient tool for the dissemination of information, information is accessible to all. A person can access information at anytime from almost anywhere. The involvement of the Ministry of Health and the Malaysian Pharmaceutical Society as partners in the development of this application will ensure that consumer and professional interests are protected. The database contains information on over 27,000 products that are nationally registered (NPCB) in both English and Bahasa Malaysia. Medicines can be searched by either ingredient or brand name, assistance is also provided to guide patients towards the right product for non-serious ailments. The site also contains information on a variety of ailments, including diagnostic guides and self-care strategies. The website contains extensive listings of participating and independent pharmacies as well as some non-registered outlets such as apothecaries.

Partners: e-Farmasi is a project of the National Information Technology Council of Malaysia under the Demonstrator Application Grant Scheme (DAGS), jointly developed by the Pharmacy Division of the Ministry of Health, The Malaysian Pharmaceutical Society, and GS Vision Sdn Bhd. The involvement of the Ministry of Health and the Malaysian Pharmaceutical Society as partners in the development of this application ensures that consumer and professional interests are protected.

Source:eFarmasi and Global Knowledge

For More Information Contact:

G. A. Kumar Gopal (Vice-President Sales & Marketing)Telephone - 5631 6685contact@efarmasi.com.my