Pharmacy Orientation and Roles

Pharmacy Orientation

• Pharmacy is derived from the Greek word "Pharmakon," meaning medicine or drug.
• It is the establishment where drugs and medicines are prepared and dispensed.
• Pharmacy encompasses the art, science, and economics of drug discovery and preparation from natural and synthetic sources.
• It involves the prevention, management, and treatment of diseases in humans and animals.

Pharmacist

• A pharmacist is a licensed healthcare professional specializing in safe and effective medication use.
• They are professionally qualified to prepare and dispense medicinal drugs.

Types of Pharmacies

• Community Pharmacy: A retail pharmacy directly serving the public. It employs more technicians and pharmacists than other pharmacy types.
• Hospital Pharmacy: Manages medications within hospitals, medical clinics, or nursing homes. Pharmacists collaborate with other health professionals to optimize medication regimens for optimal patient outcomes. Pharmacists may specialize in inpatient or outpatient care, or a specific area of pharmacotherapy.
• Hospital pharmacists have more opportunity to interact closely with prescribing physicians and thus promote rational prescribing and use of drugs, monitor patient compliance, and report adverse drug reactions. This close collaboration also allows for better education of other health professions regarding rational drug use. Hospital pharmacies are also able to control and monitor the manufacture, procurement, and supply of high-quality medications.
• Industrial Pharmacy: Involves research, production, packaging, quality control, marketing, and sales of pharmaceutical goods. Pharmacists may also work to represent a pharmaceutical company to promote and gain support for their products. Research into drug formulation is also important in industrial pharmacy. Pharmacists play a key role in quality assurance throughout production.
• Independent Pharmacies: Owned and operated by a single pharmacist or a group of pharmacists who make their own decisions on pharmacy practice. They typically do a significant amount of compounding.
• Chain Pharmacies: Consists of numerous, similar pharmacies within a region or nation. They are corporately owned and often utilize automation for large-volume dispensing.
• Mass Merchandiser Pharmacies: Regional or national community pharmacies that sell mass merchandise and offer in-store pharmacies. This includes stores like Costco, KMart, Target, and Walmart.

Activities of Community Pharmacists

• Processing prescriptions
• Patient care, including clinical pharmacy
• Monitoring drug utilization
• Extemporaneous preparation and small-scale manufacture
• Traditional and alternative medicine
• Responding to minor ailments
• Informing health professionals and the public
• Health promotion
• Domiciliary services

Other Pharmacy Specializations

• Nuclear pharmacy
• Geriatric pharmacy
• Personal pharmacy
• Nutritional support pharmacy
• Hospice pharmacy
• Pediatric pharmacy
• Poison control pharmacy
• Clinical pharmacy
• Industrial pharmacy
• Compounding pharmacy
• Consulting pharmacy
• Regulatory pharmacy
• Home care pharmacy
• Oncology pharmacy

Roles of Pharmacists

• Drug Information: Provides detailed information on medicines to health professionals and the public.
• Patent Applications and Drug Registration: Understands and collates diverse information for patent and authorization submissions.
• Clinical Trials and Post-Marketing Surveillance: A key role in the collaboration between companies, health professionals, and governments in relation to clinical trials and surveillance.
• Sales and Marketing: Promotes ethical marketing practices related to healthcare.
• Management: Promotes an ethical approach within management policies.

Additional Points

• The text highlights the importance of quality assurance in pharmaceutical production.
• Pharmacists often work in close collaboration with other healthcare professionals.
• The text emphasizes the involvement of pharmacists in various levels of management
• Pharmacists participate in policy-making and contribute to clinical trials and drug analysis.