Pharmacy technician training in Mongolia: Past, present, and future

Abstract

The first official training of pharmacy technicians started in 1926 in Mongolia and pharmacy technicians were the only national pharmaceutical staff till the first national pharmacist graduated in 1954. Pharmacy technicians have played a valuable role in pharmaceutical care and service in Mongolia for the last century, which is still maintained nowadays. As of June 2022, one public university and one private medical institute implemented a pharmacy technician curriculum in Mongolia, and 512 pharmacy technicians had graduated in 2016-2020. Graduated pharmacy technicians are eligible to work in a community pharmacy, hospital, or pharmaceutical industry after being registered. They can also further their studies to get a B. Pharm. degree with an additional three years of training. As of 2020, a total of 2009 pharmacy technicians worked in Mongolia, 807 of them were employed in Ulaanbaatar and 1556 pharmacy technicians worked in the community pharmacies.

The implementation of the CDS-quiz, a novel educational method, in augmenting the knowledge and competence of pharmaceutical technical personnel

“…Discussions and case-based learning could enhance communication and critical thinking skills (Akaho, Nakagawa, & Katz, 2010). In line with the curriculum previously obtained, it focused on preparing PTPs with the competence to provide patient-centred care (Sodnomtseren et al, 2022).…”

Pharmacy services in Mongolia: Historical background and current situation

“…The Government of Mongolia supports the development of clinical pharmacy and the introduction of patient-centered care and multi-professional healthcare teams in hospitals to increase the results of medical care services and ensure the effectiveness and safety of pharmacotherapy and the action plan of the Government of Mongolia for 2020-2024 includes provisions on clinical pharmacy and pharmaceutical care services. 22 Two types of pharmacies, community pharmacies and hospital pharmacies, deliver pharmaceutical care services to the public. Community pharmacies are classified into the first and second categories according to their types of operation.…”

“…24 Services of medicine use review, medication therapy management, medication reconciliation, and collecting expired medicines are the most needed services to be implemented. 22 Hospital pharmacy services differ depending on the level of medical care and whether they operate in urban or rural areas. Although hospital pharmacies provide services such as in-service education, drug information, adverse drug reaction management, drug therapy monitoring, counselling, medical rounds participation, drug protocol management, drug use evaluation, and admission drug history, coverage of care and service is primarily affected by the lack of human resources in hospital pharmacies.…”