Health vision 2020. Workforce needs of health professionals in Kuwait. Part III-Pharmacists

ABSTRACT

Pharmacists contribute to reducing the cost of health care while at the same time improving patients' use of medications and health outcomes. Pharmacists play an important role in counseling patients, and reducing medication errors. The aims of the study were to 1. describe the size of the workforce of pharmacists during the years 2000 to 2005; 2. project the future demand of pharmacists, with special reference to the supply of Kuwaiti pharmacists during the years 2006 to 2020. Local and international data on demand and supply of pharmacists were retrieved. Data on actual population and supply of pharmacists during the years 2000 to 2005 were used to project the future demand of pharmacists during the period 2006 to 2020. Population projections were derived using an exponential average annual population growth rate. The future need for pharmacists was projected using the average pharmacists population ratio during 2000 to 2005, of one pharmacist to 1,613 population [equivalent to 0.6231 pharmacist 1000 population]. The projected number of Kuwaiti pharmacists at a given year was calculated by incrementing the number of Kuwaiti pharmacists of the previous year by 9.44%, the average annual growth rate of Kuwaiti pharmacists during 2000 to 2005. Projections for the demand of pharmacists were also computed based on the UK ratio of 0.5891 pharmacist 1000 population [equivalent to one pharmacist to 1698 population. The average annual growth rate of 9.44% for Kuwaiti pharmacists indicates that the number of Kuwaiti pharmacists is increasing. However, there is a gap between the numbers of Kuwaiti and non-Kuwaiti pharmacists. Of the total demand of pharmacists in year 2005, Kuwaiti pharmacists constituted 18.4%, mostly employed by the Ministry of Health. Disparity between the number of Kuwaiti pharmacists available and total demand for pharmacists is expected to become wider if the health authorities were to improve the pharmacist population ratio to the values that exist in industrialized countries such as UK. It is unlikely that the supply of Kuwaiti pharmacists will meet the projected demand until the year 2020. To minimize the gap between the total demand and the supply of Kuwaiti pharmacists, it is desirable that the Faculty of Pharmacy, Kuwait University consider increasing the annual intake of students, and the Ministry of Higher Education increase the number of scholarships offered for pharmacy education