Role of It in Pharma Case

Article

Emerging role of IT in Indian pharmaceutical industry and its implications for the education system

Shyamal Kalani* Oasis Test House, Jaipur, Rajasthan. The Indian pharmaceutical sector has made phenomenal progress in the last few years, making its presence felt in the world market. The introduction of new Schedule M and Schedule L1 has led to widespread technological advances and changes in the industry outlook. The pharmaceutical companies in India are identifying various strategies such as adoption of Information Technology (IT) tools to increase productivity, efficiency and achieve regulatory compliance. Various software systems such as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS), etc. are being increasingly accepted and implemented across the industry. With the growth in the pharma sector, there are abundant opportunities opening up for pharmacy graduates with the right combination of IT skills and industry knowledge. Thus, there is immediate need to acquaint the pharmacy students to the latest terms, regulations and technologies. Keywords Pharmacy education, information technology, software systems

Introduction

From ancient times, pharmacy is known as a branch associated with health care services. Today, the profession has made enormous progress and is involved in all stages related to a drug. With the growth of the pharmaceutical and hospital sector in India, there are abundant opportunities opening up in industrial, hospital, clinical and community pharmacy. Thus, there is a dire need to generate competent persons with a sound technical foundation as well as an intensive practical exposure who can efficiently meet the demands of the pharma industry and serve the requirements of patient care and pharmacy practice. A vast majority of pharmacists generally seek opportunities with the thriving pharmaceutical industry in which services are well defined and well remunerated1. In recent times, the...