International recognition for the professional contribution of Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital at the 2025 Asian Clinical Pharmacy Conference

Recently, at the 24th Asian Clinical Pharmacy Conference (Asian Conference on Clinical Pharmacy – ACCP 2025) held in Indonesia, Associate Professor Dr. Đặng Nguyễn Đoan Trang - Head of the Pharmacy Department at Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital (BV ĐHYD) was honored with the Second Place Oral presentation award, one of the prizes at the largest academic event in the Asian region in the field of clinical pharmacy.

The presentation by Associate Professor Dr. Đặng Nguyễn Đoan Trang at the conference was titled “Investigation of the use of ceftazidime-avibactam and ceftolozane-tazobactam at one tertiary teaching hospital at Ho Chi Minh City”, conducted at BV ĐHYD itself. The study focused on usage patterns, antimicrobial resistance mechanisms, and the management of the new generation β‑lactam/β‑lactamase inhibitor antibiotics – considered “reserve drugs” in the context of rising antimicrobial resistance. “This award is a great happiness and also a recognition of the collective research effort. It is the result of close collaboration among physicians, pharmacists, microbiology experts, and many other units at the Hospital,” Associate Professor Dr. Đặng Nguyễn Đoan Trang shared.

Not only does the project have scientific value, it also has high practical applicability by providing additional data on the status of antibiotic resistance in Vietnam and contributing to the development of treatment guidelines, optimizing antibiotic use in hospitals. In particular, the report emphasizes the role of identifying resistance mechanisms and applying pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics (PK/PD) in selecting appropriate antibiotics – one of the key directions of modern clinical pharmacy.

In addition to the award-winning report, the Pharmacy Department also presented a poster at the conference titled “Drug-related problems in the Emergency Department at one tertiary teaching hospital at Ho Chi Minh City”, further confirming the comprehensive research capability of the hospital’s pharmacists. Associate Professor Dr. Đặng Nguyễn Đoan Trang emphasized: “We will continue to develop clinical pharmacy research with a patient-centered approach and focus on key areas such as infectious diseases, pharmacokinetics, and drug safety.”

The Pharmacy Department of ĐHYD Hospital is playing an important role in training, technology transfer, and developing the clinical pharmacy network in Vietnam. Pharmacists in the Department are not only trained on-site but are also encouraged to study abroad in countries such as Thailand, Taiwan, India, the United Kingdom, France, Australia, the United States… At the same time, the Department proactively connects with many international experts to organize specialty conferences and implement multicenter research projects.

Expectations for the future, Associate Professor Đoan Trang believes: “The field of Clinical Pharmacy in Vietnam has many opportunities for development but also requires the young team to continuously study, enhance expertise, foreign language skills, and communication abilities. I hope this result will inspire young pharmacists to continue reaching far, confidently integrate and contribute to the development of the profession.”