ROLE OF A PHARMACOLOGIST

BY : Dr. HARMANJIT SINGH

POST-GRADUATE STUDENT

DEPTT. OF PHARMACOLOGY

GMC, PATIALA

Pharmacologist

A Pharmacologist is a scientist, primarily occupied with research,

although teaching medical students is often a part of the job description.

A Pharmacologist works or has experience working in a laboratory

performing research.

Since the introduction of formal medical education in India, pharmacologists in

both medical institutions and industrial organizations have had two basic

functions.

These are teaching and research. Pharmacologists have not played an active role in the delivery of patient care.

In addition, they have not been involved in deciding the national drug policy or in

the planning of various health programmes.

Roles : Various roles of a Pharmacologist are :

• Medical Education

• Research

• Regulatory Affairs

• Community Pharmacology

• Social Responsibilities

Medical Education Has important role in teaching program of • Undergraduates :

- Medical and Dental.

• Postgraduates :

- Teaching program of PGs

- Proper guidance of completion and timely submission of thesis

• Paramaedics : e.g Nursing students , Phrmacy students

- Pharmacologists have a well defined role in teaching centres

- Introduce the concept of rational drug use and essential drugs .

- Introduction of the students with various drugs , their effects , their

toxicity , interactions and potential uses.

- Students must be trained not only in the effects of drugs , their toxicity, but also in how to assess the drug information and how to discriminate

between actual information and promotional claims.

- At the end of the pharmacology course the student should be able to

- a) rationally prescribe drugs for common diseases.

- b) calculate the dosage depending upon the age, sex, and

prevailing health status of the individual.

- c) administer the drug through the appropriate route.

- d) identify adverse drug reactions and drug interactions

Research

A pharmacologist has very important role in

• Basic Research

• Clinical Research (Clinical Pharmacology)

- Essential part of clinical trials

- Integral part of Institutional Ethics Committees

- Ensure adherence to GCP Guidelines

- Therapeutic Drug Monitoring

- Interpretation of clinical trial results

Pharmaceutical companies, research and development

divisions employ numerous pharmacologists, both non-clinical and

clinical :-

- To conduct Research prior to approval of a drug and afterwards.

- To monitor safety and

- To discover/develop new applications.

-  The integrative approach, which is based on an in-depth knowledge

of pharmacological principles, drug–target interactions and drug

effects in an intact organism, is still the basis of successful drug

discovery today and will remain so for the foreseeable future.

Regulatory Affairs

• Essential Drugs Concept

- formulation and implementation of ESSENTIAL DRUG LIST

• Formulation of National Drug Policy

• Monitors and Auditors for ClinicalTrials

• Drug Authority • Knowledge about IND, NDA applications and patent law guidelines

Community Pharmacology

• Pharmacoeconomics

- Cost effective analysis of great value

- To alter prescribing habits of Physicians

- Ensure availability of safe, cheap and effective drugs for The community

• Pharmacovigilance

- reporting of ADRs

- Important channel of feedback to the industry

- PV is an effort towards making drugs more safe

• Hospital Pharmacologist

- Ensures rational use of drugs in hospital

- Teaches rational drug use at all levels

- Assists the hospital in meeting regulatory needs - Keeps an eye over the adverse drug reactions and possible drug drug interactions of the various drugs

used in hospital set up.

As a Toxicologist

Toxicology is frequently called "overdose pharmacology".

As Toxicologists deal with drugs, they are primarily concerned with the

toxic effects of drugs.

- Much of toxicology is considered a subset of pharmacology because

the basic science of pharmacology is used for toxicology.

- Thus the field of toxico-kinetics is based on pharmacokinetics;

the dose - response relationships for toxic actions obey similar laws

as for thereapeutic actions.

- Toxicologists also may serve as Expert Witnesses in legal

matters testifying as to the side effects and adverse reactions to

drugs.

 - Has the best knowledge of drug’s effects and toxicity profiles.

- So a pharmacologist is of immense value to the community by the virtue

of training best suited for this job

Other Roles In Community Pharmacology Pharmacologists are the most appropriate people for physician education

- Rational Drug Use

- Unbiased and scientific knowledge about new drugs

- Recognition and reporting of Adverse Drug Reactions

- Value and role of conducting a Drug Audit

- Role of generic prescribing

- Educating about reliability and authenticity

of drug promotional literature - AS A PHYSICIAN

A pharmacologist holds the thorough knowledge of drugs.

He has the best knowledge about the effects , adverse effects and

interactions of a drug.

He can apply this knowledge to treat various diseases in a community.

Social Responsibility

• A social responsibility to educate the Community

•Rationality and safety of various OTC preparations

• Rationality of combination drug products

• Check on various unethical drug advertisement practices

Social Pharmacology : a new field in Clinical Pharmacology, describes the

relationships between Society and Drugs.

Social Pharmacologist investigates the reasons for prescription, delivery,

consumption and self-medication of drugs.

Social Pharmacologists also investigate the factors (others than clinical or

rational) regulating drug use.

The role of the Social Pharmacologist is to identify the social and irrational

factors governing drug use in order to adapt and rationalize drug utilization

in daily clinical practice.

Interactions between Pharmacologists and other Scientists / Healthcare Professionals

In the context of a pharmaceutical company, pharmacologists are intensively involved in drug discovery and validation of therapeutic

actions of drugs.

The safety evaluation of those drugs is in the realm of

The Toxicologist.

Pharmacologist and Toxicologists are more heavily involved prior to

clinical trials, but their participation generally endures throughout the

lifetime of the drug.

Other than as part of their training, Physicians typically do not interact

with Pharmacologists.

Physicians often regard themselves as qualified to fulfill the role of

Pharmacologist, which may or may not be justified.

Pharmacologists and Pharmacists rarely encounter one another

professionally

Future prospects

• Pharmacology and Biotechnology

• Expertise in Medical Writing

• Translational Research

The pharmaceutical industry in the 21st century needs more well-

trained pharmacologists in order to be successful and translate the

information provided by the Human Genome Project into advances in

healthcare. Pharmacologists who have had:

(i) The holistic training necessary to enable translation from gene to organism

(ii) Practical training in a wide range of pharmacological

techniques and new technologies

(iii)  In vivo skills; and

(iv) A quantitative approach to their research are needed.

There are already excellent examples of partnerships

between industry and academia to support the training and

development of the next generation of pharmacologists for

drug discovery. We need to continue to build these partnerships to

ensure pharmaceutical industry continues to be at the forefront of drug

discovery during the coming years.

To summarize:

Pharmacologist has very important role in teaching

undergraduates and postgraduates

Collaborating with the clinicians in the day-to-day

delivery of patient care.

Formulating protocols for drug treatment.

Deciding purchase of drugs for the hospitals.

National drug policy meetings.

Implementation of drug related health programmes.

The activities of the institutions, such as, the FDA, the

ICMR, and the IMA