Muhammad Ahmer Raza1, 2*, Shireen Aziz3, Adil Tursun2, Misbah Noreen1, Danyal Iftikhar4, and Shahid Masood Raza5
1Faculty of Pharmacy, The University of Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan
2Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang, China
3School of Pharmacy, Zhengzhou University, Henan, China
4Department of Pharmacy, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
5School of Pharmacy, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Hubei, China
* Corresponding Author: [email protected]
Quality control and quality assurance both are crucial to the production and release of different medical products [1]. Both tests aim to verify a given medicine at various stages of its production in order to ensure that every product is of the highest quality. Without these two functions of quality management, a pharmaceutical organization would struggle to achieve consistency in its output [2]. Quality assurance pharmacist acts like a bridge between the quality control and production sections. The above pharmacist is responsible for any activity related to the release and testing of results. The said pharmacist is an expert in using all the machines and equipment utilized during the testing process and has tremendous knowledge about drugs. Therefore, it is their responsibility to print the quality results on labels.
Pharmacists are skilled at analyzing complex systems, particularly those that involve medication-related processes. They are deputed in the quality control section where samples for testing are drawn from raw materials, packing materials, and finished products [3]. They have a key role in the quality assurance section where the checking and sampling process is carried out to maintain the quality needed for good quality practice [4]. During checking, if they observe any anomaly, they make deviation and give it to the production representative. They have the authority to stop production in case of a serious anomaly. They also contribute to the investigation of the deviation, so that the incident is not repeated in the future. They have an important role during the change of material and facility. Sample drawn for testing purposes from finished products to the quality control section for testing and then release in the form of a pass label. Pass label is handed over to the production pharmacist after the testing of raw material, packing material, or finished products.
It is the responsibility of the quality control pharmacist to arrange the testing of the concerned samples as per the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) and provide information about quality results [5]. These results need to be publicly accessible to identify the raw materials that were tested and approved, or rejected, in order to ensure that only the items that meet the predefined standards are used for manufacturing. Quality test result labels can help healthcare personals to determine if the specifications were met for raw materials, finished goods, and equipment. The pharmacist can fill this gap by introducing a Quick Response (QR) code on drug labels. QR code labels, when scanned, will direct scanners to quality results data. The QR code label can also direct the audience to a PDF file containing the quality results data. Pharmacist can also focus on peer-review publications of quality results data, which involve collaboration between companies, editors, and investigators. They should publish quality results in an "industry publication journal", so that the data would be available for comments and discussion purposes for the entire scientific community. This innovative practice can build a high level of trust and confidence with many benefits, including a perception of better care, greater acceptance to recommended treatment and adherence to the treatment, lower anxiety in relation to any treatment taken, and reportedly, it also facilitates access to health services [6, 7].
For both patients and the healthcare team, trust and confidence is positively associated with the quality of the information provided to patients and access to care. This call provides an excellent opportunity for pharmacists to introduce QR code labels. It also calls for the publication of quality results assessing quality test data to boost the confidence of physicians and patients alike and enhance the reputation of the pharmacy profession and pharmaceutical companies among the general population.