Pharmacy practice in Thailand

Thailand, located in southeast Asia, is approximately the size of France. It has a population of 65 million and is home to various ethnic groups.1 Most Thai citizens can speak only Thai and Thai dialects; English is a second language to most of the elite. In the past three decades, the overall physical health indicators for Thai people have been improving. For instance, life expectancy at birth has increased from 59 years in 1964 to 71 years in 2004.1 Significant improvements in the quality and standard of the Thai health care system have contributed immensely to this success. The country’s health care system has evolved from a system dependent and built on local wisdom to one that relies heavily on technology and collaborative efforts of health care professionals from multiple disciplines.2 Indisputably, pharmacy practice also has changed dramatically in the past few decades. In 1914, Prince Chainat of Thailand established the first School of Dispensing in Thailand, which offered a three-year dispensing program.3 The school later became the department of pharmacy in Chulalongkorn University in 1934. The curriculum was subsequently expanded into a four-year academic pharmacy program in 1939, making Chulalongkorn the first institution in Thailand to offer a bachelor of science degree in pharmacy.3 In 1957, the undergraduate curriculum at Chulalongkorn was further revised to a five-year academic program, which continues to be offered to pharmacy students today. Today, there are 14 schools of pharmacy in Thailand, including 2 private institutions, which graduate about 1000 pharmacy majors every year.2