Estimation of Number of Industrial Pharmacists Required in Thailand in The Years 2009 to 2013

Abstract

This descriptive study aimed to determine new manpower of industrial pharmacists needed in Thailand
in production, assurance and quality control, registration of pharmaceutical products, research and development, and management in the 5 year period from 2009 to 2013. The number was calculated by 2 techniques. The first assumed that labor conditions in the next 5 years period were the same as those in the previous 5 years and calculated the number of pharmacists by considering the number of pharmacists who resigned and the number of new employment in the industry from 2004 to 2008. The second technique calculated the number of required pharmacists from 2009 to 2013 by using respondentsû opinions. A questionnaire was sent to the managers of all pharmaceutical manufacturers (167 manufactories) in Thailand and 69 (41.32%) questionnaires were returned. Just under 50% of the respondents were general managers with an average duration of employment of 12.71 years. The manufacturers were certified with GMP (100%), registered a total number of 6,470 pharmaceutical products (average of 109.66 pharmaceutical products per manufacturer), produced recipes equal to registered pharmaceutical products (34.80%), and produced 330 patent pharmaceutical products (average of 41.25 pharmaceutical products per manufacturer).
The first technique estimated that 47 pharmacists were needed for the 167 manufacturers each year
from 2009 to 2013. However, the second technique estimated that the required number was 124 persons per
year for the same period. The findings from this study are beneficial for the faculty of pharmaceutical sciences in planning the education to meet the need of labor market and for pharmacy students in the selection of majors that are appropriate to workforce contexts.