Call to increase the employment of pharmacists in the pharmaceutical industry

In his statement to AA correspondent, Demirci stated that the employment problem in the field of pharmacy has become an important agenda in the last 4-5 years.

Explaining that they are carrying out studies to increase the employment opportunities of pharmacists, Demirci stated that in this context, a protocol was signed with İŞKUR for the employment of young pharmacists as assistant pharmacists in pharmacies.

Stating that approximately 1600 pharmacists started working in pharmacies in the last month after the protocol came into force, Demirci said, "We are working to create a better wage policy in order to improve the conditions of pharmacists. We want to improve our cooperation with İŞKUR." he said.

Demirci emphasized that the employment of pharmacists is not limited to pharmacies only and said that public institutions, hospitals, health directorates, home care services and R&D laboratories are also important employment areas for pharmacists.

"10 thousand pharmacists are waiting for appointment"

TEB President Demirci stated that the pharmaceutical industry is an important field of work for pharmacists and said, "When we look at the rate of pharmacists in the pharmaceutical industry, it is around 1 percent. We need to pave the way for pharmacists to work in this sector. For this, we are working on adapting the İŞKUR protocol to the pharmaceutical industry." he said.

Pointing out the importance of training pharmacists with the qualifications needed by the pharmaceutical industry, Demirci noted that the education curriculum at universities should be reconsidered in this direction.

Demirci said, "We think that a training curriculum should be planned that will train pharmacists who can work in the industry, especially in production. We are also taking steps in this regard. We know that around 10 thousand pharmacist colleagues are waiting for appointment. We expect the Ministry of Health to increase the number of appointments in this regard." he said.

"31 thousand pharmacies provide services in Türkiye"

Stating that negotiations with the Social Security Institution regarding the drug purchasing protocol are continuing, Demirci said, "We are in the signing phase of the drug purchasing protocol with the Social Security Institution. Our negotiations are ongoing. Our pharmacies need to survive. 31 thousand pharmacies in Türkiye provide services scattered throughout Türkiye. We are a stakeholder in the provision of health services. We expect an improvement on behalf of our pharmacies here, too." He made a statement.

Arguing that drug pricing should be carried out realistically and in parallel with economic parameters, Demirci said, "If this does not happen, there may be problems in accessing medicine. It is necessary to be very careful about this. Medicine is an indispensable product. Medicine is not a commercial product. Medicine is a health-related product. The view should be like this. In order for pharmacies to survive, it is necessary to work on realistic parameters in this sense." made his assessment.

"Türkiye should become capable of producing its own medicine"

Stating that Türkiye should become more self-sufficient in pharmaceutical production, Demirci said that although the drug production on a box basis is over 80 percent, the rate is lower in terms of monetary value.