KUALA LUMPUR: KPJ Healthcare Bhd has ensured that the role of pharmacists across its network of hospitals nationwide continues to evolve in tandem with patients' needs.

Through its education arm, KPJ Healthcare University College, the healthcare provider offers multi-faceted growth via its School of Pharmacy as it has produced close to 1,100 pharmacy assistants for the domestic and international sectors.

The School of Pharmacy comprises four esteemed programmes, including a Master of Science in Pharmaceutical Technology, a Bachelor of Pharmacy (Hons), a Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Science with Health Sciences (Hons) and a Diploma in Pharmacy, with an expected Master of Pharmacy programme to be launched early next year.

Additionally, a centre of excellence for Pharmaceutical Sciences (CoEPS) was formally established in 2019, focusing on initiatives for academic research to be incorporated into the pharmaceutical industry.

Recently, the School of Pharmacy also secured RM200,000 in external research grants from Aafiyat Group, whereby four clinical research studies will be carried out at CoEPS and KPJ Seremban Specialist Hospital.

KPJ Healthcare officer in charge and chief financial officer Norhaizam Mohammad said the role of pharmacists had become increasingly important in hospitals, retail pharmacies, purchase and distribution, academia, research, and others.

"Moving with the times, we have pioneered numerous pharmaceutical advancements in our hospitals, from safe storage, dispensing, computerised physician orders, outpatient pharmacy modules, and overall workflow upgrading, under best practices in the industry.

"Furthermore, the growing awareness of female empowerment in the pharmaceutical profession is commendable, and I believe this plays a key role in enhancing service excellence and quality," said Norhaizam.

Besides, KPJ Healthcare's home-grown retail brand, Healthshoppe, has four JX Pharmacies, ten brick-and-mortar Healthshoppes in various KPJ Hospitals, and a self-managed e-commerce platform, KPJShoppe.com.

Expansion plans within and beyond KPJ Hospitals are in the works, with up to 26 outlets slated to be opened by 2027, enabling pharmacists to grow their careers with KPJ Healthcare.