STM Pharmaceuticals calls for united front in healthcare

STM Pharmaceuticals marketing manager, MS Vongai Dzingai, stressed the importance of closer collaboration between pharmacists and doctors at the ongoing conference in Bulawayo yesterday. The annual event, co-hosted by the College of Primary Health Care of Zimbabwe and the Pharmaceutical Society of Zimbabwe, brings together key players in the medical field to discuss pressing issues affecting the nation’s health sector.

The conference is particularly timely, coinciding with a surge in new pharmacies across Zimbabwe cities, including Bulawayo. Ms Dzingai highlights the potential for a more positive patient experience when pharmacists and doctors work hand-in-hand.

“STM is a pharmaceutical company in Zimbabwe that provides products to our professional health practitioners. So at this conference, we have pharmacists and doctors from across the country. As a pharmaceutical company, we are showcasing our products to these healthcare practitioners. We are interacting with stakeholders from our pharmacies, surgeries, hospitals and clinics,” said Ms Dzingai.

“At STM we provide a variety of products and today we are showcasing winter products. We distribute Zimpharm products and different products from various manufacturers across the world.”

She said by assembling medical professionals under one roof, the general population will receive better healthcare.

“Providing healthcare is a chain. It’s essential that the people in this chain are all aware of what is happening and they work hand-in-hand to provide the best care to the end user who is a patient or our client. So pharmacists are there to dispense what the physician or doctor has prescribed. So these people must be brought together so that they work hand-in-hand. Where the doctor does not understand, he or she can turn to the pharmacist, and when the pharmacist does not understand, they can turn to a doctor.”

She said that the nation has witnessed a rise in pharmacies as a result of the Government initiatives which assist the sector.

“In an industry, there has to be growth and expansion. The policies in our country have made us become employers. You will find that after studying to be pharmacists or doctors, people decide to be self-employed,” she said.

“They open pharmacies and surgeries because our policies support that. You have to be an entrepreneur, make your own decisions and provide a service to your community. I can safely say most of the pharmacies in Zimbabwe are run by pharmacists.” – @nqotshili