Asia’s No. 1 drugstore Watsons in the Philippines has partnered with the Philippine Pharmacists Association (PPhA) and the Philippine College of Chest Physicians (PCCP) to empower and improve its pharmacists’ competencies to better serve its customers’ health needs.

The partnership between Watsons, PPhA and PCCP was formalized through a memorandum of agreement signed on Oct. 16 at Watsons Philippines’ head office.

Attending the signing were executives of Watsons Philippines led by general manager Danilo Chiong; officers of PPhA headed by president Dr. Yolanda Robles, and officers and members of the training team of PCCP led by president Dr. Malbar Ferrer.

“In line with our commitment to improve the health of Filipinos, we partnered with PPhA and PCCP to enable our pharmacists to deliver better patient education and make them our customers’ most trusted health and wellness partners in the community,” said Chiong.

As part of the partnership, Watsons conducted the Asthma Educators Program for its pharmacists. The program is a certificate course on delivering patient education to asthmatic patients.

The pilot batch of selected pharmacists from different Watsons branches nationwide went through the three-day intensive training facilitated by experts from PPhA and PCCP on Oct. 28.

“The Asthma Educators Program aims to provide Watsons pharmacists with basic knowledge, attitudes and skills on asthma diagnosis and treatment. The program will also help them better educate Watsons customers who are asthmatic patients,” added Chiong.

Asthma is a condition in which a person’s airways narrow and swell and produce extra mucus. This can make breathing difficult and trigger coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath. For many asthma sufferers, attacks can be debilitating and even potentially fatal.

Watsons, whose goal is to make people look good and feel great, wants to help asthma patients achieve better asthma control and improved quality of life through this program.