LAHORE: Punjab Assembly Speaker and Acting Governor, Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan, has called for legislation to make clinical pharmacy an essential part of the healthcare system, saying it is the need of the hour to ensure safe, effective, and affordable treatment for the public.

Speaking as chief guest at the inaugural session of the first International Clinical Pharmacy Conference at the University of Health Sciences (UHS) on Monday, Mr Khan said clinical pharmacists should not only dispense medicines but also participate in patient care and treatment. They could play a vital role in preventing the misuse of medicines, he added.

The acting governor described the 250 million population as both a challenge and an opportunity for the healthcare system. He stressed that the recommendations of the conference should be incorporated into policy and academic curricula.

Organised by the UHS College of Pharmacy, the conference brought together over 400 participants including experts, policymakers, students and researchers from Pakistan and abroad. On the occasion, UHS and King Saud University, Riyadh, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for collaboration in pharmacy education and research.

UHS Vice Chancellor Prof Ahsan Waheed Rathore said clinical pharmacy was vital for patient safety and improved treatment outcomes. The university, he said, had launched an undergraduate programme in the discipline and would soon introduce courses ranging from PhD to certificate level. He underscored the need for a clear distinction between industrial and clinical pharmacy.

UHS College of Pharmacy head, Prof Dr Haji Muhammad Shoaib Khan, called the conference a pivotal moment for the pharmacy profession, saying it offered a vital forum for global dialogue on clinical pharmacy, patient care and regulatory progress, while reflecting the college’s focus on competence, innovation, and ethics.

Pro-Vice Chancellor Prof Nadia Naseem, Drug Regulatory Authority Pakistan CEO Dr Obaidullah Malik, and Pakistan Pharmacy Council Vice President Sardar Shabbir Ahmad also addressed the session.

Keynote speakers included Prof Zaheerud Din Babar of Qatar University, who spoke on the global impact of clinical pharmacy practice research and Prof Mohsin Kazi of King Saud University, who discussed advances in lipid-based nano drug delivery systems. Dr Tauseef Nauman from Germany’s Otto-von-Guericke University highlighted the growing role of artificial intelligence in healthcare.

The sessions also featured presentations on pharmaceutical risk communication, antimicrobial resistance, simulation-based pharmacy education and the application of physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) modelling in individualised therapy.

Published in Dawn, August 12th, 2025