Embracing the Future of Healthcare
It goes without saying that the world has changed dramatically in many aspects of life, and perhaps industry is one of the areas that has undergone the most significant changes and developments in recent years.
The COVID-19, Corona pandemic has played a major role in changing many patterns and behaviors of people and societies and has also had a direct impact on thinking about a different future, whether in terms of industry or services provided to citizens.
The pharmaceutical industry, among other strategic and important industries for human health in all parts of the world, has been affected by the COVID-19, Corona pandemic. Under intense pressure from the public and governments, the industry has strived to provide appropriate vaccines in the shortest possible time to secure these vaccines for the largest number of people in different parts of the world.
What we have witnessed in recent years is the rapid development in the transition or transformation to digitizing operations and systems in various areas of life, including the pharmaceutical industry, to be able to face major challenges, whether from the severe shortage of human resources due to the ongoing closures during the pandemic period, to the need to continue the production process to secure the necessary medicines for all patients in various societies.
This has forced company managements to search for ways to accelerate the production and distribution of medicines while fully adhering to the safety, quality and security of these medicines when used by the patient. This shift was towards digitizing operations at various levels, starting from securing the necessary materials for manufacturing and all logistical operations related to shipping and storage to producing the necessary medicines at the right time and distributing them to all medical centers in each country.
Many pharmaceutical CEOs have demonstrated strategic foresight by embracing digitization as an effective and efficient solution to confront industry obstacles. Their leadership has not only increased the effectiveness of operations but also reduced the costs associated with all stages of securing medicine. Their success has inspired others to follow suit, realizing the importance of digital transformation in all their activities.
The broad outlines of the principles of Pham.4.0 were formulated to light the way for companies wishing to transform their internal systems to digital systems to maintain the company’s continuity and viability.
The process of transforming to a digital system is not easy. It is an arduous path that requires full cooperation from all relevant and interested parties to make this transformation a success.
Companies have faced great difficulties in adopting this transformation, including, but not limited to, the internal resistance of employees to this trend because employees are accustomed to the routine paper system, and it is not easy to convince them of this dramatic transformation. There is also the dilemma of senior management adopting this trend because this trend requires investment in expensive software systems that may affect their profits at the end of the year.
The biggest dilemma is in the legal systems that govern the pharmaceutical industry with regard to the software and its ability to be subjected to verification and validation according to the requirements of the pharmaceutical industry Software Validation. Also, in many small and medium-sized pharmaceutical companies, the size of investment in software systems is much greater than their capabilities, in addition to the fact that many manufacturing devices are old, and it isn’t easy to connect them and obtain the necessary information from them in real-time to take appropriate corrective measures at the appropriate time.
Software solutions have spread like wildfire widely in many countries of the world, and many software companies have proposed them. Buyers have become overwhelmed by the abundance of software solutions offered in the market, and it has become difficult to distinguish between them, so some principles for choosing the appropriate system have appeared in more than one article or international symposium, specifying the legal requirements for selection and also about how and the stages of implementing them.
Some have started buying these software solutions, some have failed, some are still trying, and few have succeeded in this long road.
The success of any new idea depends on many factors; I will summarize some of them below:
- Internal preparation and awareness of this transformation within the institution itself before starting the implementation and measuring the extent of acceptance of the idea and how to market it internally.
- Adoption of this project by the board of directors and executive management. Without this adoption, the project is doomed to failure from the beginning because the responsibility of securing the necessary resources for this project is linked to their approval.
- Choosing a team and a project leader who enjoys the trust and respect of everyone within the company.
- Conducting intensive internal and external training for the project team
- Overcoming all obstacles facing the project team.
- Neutralizing the frustrated and discouraged members and keeping them as far away as possible from affecting the project’s progress.
Applying the proposed solution to a small section at the beginning as a pilot project for ease of use, knowing all the problems that appear, and finding appropriate solutions for them before moving on to generalizing the project or solution to all departments of the company.
The abundance of software solutions spread around the world, whether in America, Europe, or far-east Asia, is positive in giving the beneficiary an idea of the diversity in the source of these solutions, but at the same time, it raises confusion and hesitation among some in the selection process.
There is no doubt that the whole world is moving towards digitization and artificial intelligence AI and its branches of Machine Learning and Machine Connectivity are only the first steps towards a world governed by computer software systems in all aspects of life from industry, agriculture, education and health.
Digitizing will shape the future of the pharmaceutical industry and all its operations, from formulation to making the medicine available and affordable at competitive prices with highly skilled personnel. I hope that these transformations will serve humanity in a better life away from the evil usage that harms human life.
About the Author
Najeh Dmaidi has a master’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Chemical Technology & Metallurgy/ Sofia, Bulgaria. He has 37 years of experience in the industry, thirty-four of which were in the pharmaceutical industry.
Before retirement, he held various positions, from production and quality manager to assistant GM and Operations General Manager of the whole company’s sites. He now works as a technical consultant for the company on different projects.
For any further queries, contact him at: Najeh.a.dmaidi@gmail.com
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