To address the future challenges in healthcare, a larger number of pharmacologists have to be trained globally. The COVID19 pandemic has exposed scientific and academic inadequacy in healthcare services. The need for antibiotics, antivirals, and whole classes of medications purposed for preventing blood clotting, mitigating cardiac troubles, and providing immunological support, are desperately required. Many existing medications were used to treat the symptoms of COVID19, for a considerable number of them, the mechanism of action was not entirely known. These drugs often have significant and unforeseen side effects which vary based on age, gender, ethnicity, and preexisting chronic health conditions.
It is imperative to better understand their pharmacokinetics and their metabolism to evaluate their efficacy and safety. This requires better pharmacy education and a larger number of students to fill the deficit in human resources in pharmacy oriented health services. Pharmacy education in India has grown over the last 50 years. It has been proposed ( though it is not practised ) that research is not sufficiently emphasised in undergraduate pharmacy education. Greater governmental outreach to rural and underprivileged areas is required to ensure that essential medications are available where ever they are required. The curriculum of pharmacy colleges must be updated periodically based on important scientific developments in the field. This is to ensure that new and relevant scientific knowledge is always available to students. The chief benefits of such awareness are the improved competence of pharmacologists and in turn better medical services. This can save several lives. Often critical medication is unaffordable for significant sections of the population. This creates the need for cheaper and safer alternatives to such salts. There is a need, hence, for greater social commitment to research and development to create effective solutions.
