Pharmacy is an interdisciplinary field of science comprising almost every aspect of drug discovery, synthesis, manufacturing distribution, and patient care and links the health, chemical and biological sciences. The pharmacy profession has expanded significantly in terms of professional services delivery and now has been recognized as an important profession in the multidisciplinary provision of health care. The current era of globalization has witnessed evolution in the professions of the health sector, especially in pharmacy. Whereas previously the pharmacists worldwide was seen as responsible primarily for manufacturing and supplying medicines, today the pharmacist's role has evolved towards a clinical orientation and patenting. With change in the health demands, pharmacists have extended role to play in patient care.

Access to and appropriate use of medicine is among the major health sector problems in most of the developing countries. The health care system without pharmacist is unable to copy effectively with most medicine-related issues. Thus, involvement of skillful and authoritative pharmacists in therapeutic procedures is necessary to improve appropriate use of medicines, eliminate medication errors, and make proper use of the medicine budget by efficient management.

In 2003 Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D) program in Pakistan was incited as a five- year professional degree, focused mainly towards the clinical aspects of the pharmacy profession with an estimated productivity of 2587 pharmacists every year. With the current population, this number is not sufficient to provide optimal health care delivery. Among the total number of pharmacists in Pakistan, approximately 55% are engaged in the production of pharmaceuticals - 15% of them working at the federal and provincial drug control authority and hospital pharmacy level - with another 15% in sales and marketing of pharmaceuticals, 10% in community pharmacy, and the rest 5% in teaching and research.

The Pharm.D professional program fulfills the educational aspect of the requirements for licensure as a pharmacist. This full-time, five year program prepare students to practice in community or hospital settings, in technological or administrative positions in the pharmaceutical industry, and for some teaching positions in schools or colleges of pharmacy.

The Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D) program at Quaid-i-Azam University is aimed to prepare students to provide high quality pharmaceutical care that has the patient as its focus and optimal drug therapy and health as its goal. The program will stress knowledge of the chemical, biological, social and clinical sciences that underline pharmacy, an understanding of the relevance of that knowledge to patient care, and the skills to apply that knowledge to specific care circumstances. The program will promote the development of analytical thinking, problem-solving abilities, communication skills, professional ethics, social responsibility, professional citizenship, the ability to adapt to changes and respond to challenges in health care, and a commitment to lifelong learning.



   Total Credit Hours     :   192